Santa Monica

The weekend before Thanksgiving, Michael and I took a trip to Santa Monica, CA, to see an old friend - old, only in the sense that we have known him for a long time. His name is Stephen Grosscup, and he lives on the top floor of the Pacific Plaza, the twin-towered building on the right in the photo above. (Click on photos for a larger image)

Stephen and doggie friend in front of Pacific Plaza

We arrived very early Saturday morning, and took a taxi to our hotel, The Georgian, the turquoise building to the left of the Pacific Plaza, where we enjoyed breakfast on the ocean view terrace.

Breakfast view

Pigeons on the terrace

Later that day, we took a walk out onto the famous Santa Monica Pier. The pier, and views from it, below.

Below is the view from Stephen's apartment. This was taken on Sunday morning, when the sun was out. It's looking north, up the coast to Pacific Palisades and Malibu.

From the 16th floor

Earlier that morning, we had gone for a stroll along that green space to the left of Ocean Boulevard, Palisades Park. The plant life is spectacular, and so is the view. Below the palisades (those steep cliffs) runs State Route 1, the Pacific Coast Highway.

Palisades Park

Eucalyptus trees

Looking north toward Malibu

Looking south toward Los Angeles


Hanging on for dear life


Looking west

Michael and the giant jade plant

Gnarly!

The only souvenirs we brought home were wonderful memories of a great time with Stephen, and some eucalyptus seed pods which we gathered from the ground in the park, although on Saturday we had walked into the Santa Monica shopping district to see if we could find any small Christmas gifts. We wandered inside a store called Kitson. It was full of (high-priced) eclectic, cutesy, trendy stuff, but nothing we wanted for stocking stuffers, and we left empty handed.

It was only when we returned home that I realized how derrière la garde we were not to have purchased something from the store. According to an article in the November 30th Wall Street Journal, Kitson is the store where Britney Spears bought baby clothes! And to think that we could have come home with pair of $395 Diddy Beats by Dr. Dre headphones, whatever that is, and didn't!

I guess we'll just have to go back.

Winner!

Now that winners in the various categories have been officially announced, it can be told: I won! I entered a contest called "Get Caught Reading The Dinosaur Hunter" which author Homer Hickam and his wife, Linda, promoted on their Facebook pages. Since I've read most of Hickam's other books, Rocket Boy, Back to the Moon, I thought I would give his newest a try. It's great fun. Set in the badlands of Montana, it tells the story of a retired LA detective, Mike, who moves to Montana to work on a cattle ranch and fall in love with the ranch's owner, Jeanette. Along comes a paleontologist who wants access to the ranch to dig for dinosaur bones, and pretty soon, trouble ensues.

Once I'd finished the book, I thought I would enter the contest, and made a little photo-video. I had great fun making it. Thank goodness I saved my grown sons' toys.

Re-bopping

I've re-taken up the camera and the keyboard and started posting again, so be on the lookout for more regular articles.

Today, while taking Matilda the Welsh Pembroke Corgi for her morning walk, I decided to climb a hill. It's only a construction hill, build about two years ago by digging a big hole in the ground nearby for a drainage pond. I think the builders had hoped to put some kind of retail store there, but then - well, everybody knows what happened in late 2008.

Anyway, the hill is dotted with mice holes, which Matilda loves to poke her nose in, so that was fun for her, and we did some exploring. Atop the hill is a great view of our area. Looking southwest, we saw this. That is the drainage pond down at the bottom right.

(Click on all photos for a larger image)




Looking due west, toward Boulder, this is the view:


Here is the view to the northwest:


Turning around to the east, it's a completely different story:


Up at the top of the hill, Matilda found something. I just finished reading Homer Hickam's latest book, The Dinosaur Hunter, so I was sort of halfway hoping I had stumbled on an artifact from "deep time." Alas, while it may have come from semi-deep time (the last few hundred years or so), it was not a dinosaur bone. It probably got dug up from the drainage pond, and re-deposited on the top of the hill on which Matilda and I were standing. I'm pretty sure it's a cattle jaw bone, although it could be from a horse. This was, and mostly still is, ranching territory, but as you can see from the photos, our immediate area is suburb territory.

The bone is rapidly disintegrating, and is very flaky. Most of the cavities are filled with dirt, and parts of the jaw have fallen off, as well as some of the teeth. I collect stuff like this, so I brought it on home. Where I'll put it, I don't know. Perhaps I can turn it into a Christmas tree decoration . . . or not.

In any case, Matilda and I had fun. We'll be back tomorrow with more exciting tales of discovery. Until then, Happy Trails!

Summertime!

Today is the hottest one so far this year out here. The forecasters were predicting 95-plus degrees for a high. It's not gotten that high yet; probably closer to 90. And that's good.

Because our air conditioner is broken.

And they won't come to fix it until late tomorrow or Tuesday.

The fan on the outdoor unit won't turn.

Wait...update. Our resident repairman (the spouse) just went outside and manually spun the fan to kick start the thing. It's turning! Now we will see whether it starts to cool us off.

If it does, we won't need it again until after next Tuesday anyway. The high tomorrow will be in the mid-70s, and the high on Saturday will be 55, with rain.

Matilda has a Sheep

It's a stuffed one, but she loves it anyway. Here it keeps her company while she has a nice chew.

This is what a Corgi looks like from the back.

Springtime in the Rockies

Four p.m. March 23, 2010.

Once More Into the Vat

Dear friends of Janet Oliver Studio,

In the words of Bartles & Jaymes, "Thank you for your support!"

Like Frank and Ed, it is my aim to make a premium product. I feel I have done that, but it seems people just aren't buying wine coolers - er, original art - these days. But, while times are hard, I continue to hold out hope that one day, more people like you will appreciate the value of all the hard work that goes into making a delicious drink/painting and will bring home a four-pack for themselves. Until then, I'll keep stomping away!

And of course, there are many ways to use original art; for instance, as a topping! Over ice! Try it for yourself and see.

First Friday

Vienna, View from The Leopold Museum

Die Pferde des Kaisers Karl/Lipizzaners of the Spanish Riding School

Reconstructing Paris/Anarcho Plumbing

Pont Neuf at Night

Ternay Under Glass

My new series, Tiny Travels, opens tonight at Gallery 510 in the Oregon Arts of Dayton, Ohio.

It's Shake n' Bake, and Matilda Helped!

Freudian Nebula in the Ringstrasse Galaxy

Matilda Kills the Wubba

Finally! More Matilda, the Welsh Pembroke Corgi puppy!

Matilda is now almost nine months old. She is a teenager in dog years, which means that some days she is the most adorable creature on earth; on others, she wants to steal the car keys and go for a joy ride. Her unpredictability makes our lives interesting.

A Wubba is a dog toy made by the Kong company. It consists of two balls with squeakers inside, all covered by practically indestructible canvas. In this video installment, Matilda shows off her killer instincts.

In the Making

Rise and Shine, Breakfast in Vienna

Happy New Year!

Welcome to the year twenty-ten, where I have been very busy creating new worlds. There are sixteen so far, with at least five more to come. That's one of them above, and another one below.

Vienna, View from the Leopold

Here is one more.Tativille, View from Le Meridien

These little images are part of a new series I call Tiny Travels. I am making them to commemorate a trip I took to France and Austria in 2006. I have big plans for the series, which I will reveal shortly. For now, I hope you will enjoy the sixteen small worlds I have made.

Click here to see them.

All You Need is Art

And I have some for you. In December, I will have works not only at Gallery 115, but also at the Green Hill Center for NC Art.

Lynn and David Gibbs, owners of Gallery 115 on Pomona Drive will be hosting their annual Winter Show. Opening night is Friday, December 4. As always, along with familiar faces, new artists will exhibit. I've sent two new works:

Opteron Two
5 x 9" (image)
Mixed media on Strathmore illustration board


Opteron Three
5 x 9" (image)
Mixed media on Strathmore illustration board

Green Hill Center for NC Art will be hosting their 30th annual Collector's Choice Gala and Winter Show. According to the press release, the focus of the show is on "young and first time collectors" in order to support Green Hill's First Works program. Curator Edie Carpenter says that the Center "want(s) everyone to become a collector, no matter what their budget or what the economy is doing.” She goes on to argue that even if you "have less money...why not invest it in something unique and handmade, something that is one of a kind, and something that will increase in value." Carpenter assures the would-be collector that works in the exhibition have been priced to fit any budget. I say, go in with a friend and split the cost. The work can live chez vous for half the year, and with your friend for the other half.

Opening night for Collector's Choice Gala is Saturday, December 5th; the Winter Show opens to the public on Sunday, December 6th, when admission is free.

Some of my birds have migrated over for the exhibition:

Snow Goose
12 x 9" (image)
Mixed media on Bristol board

What better way to start the holiday season than a weekend of gallery (s)hopping?

Here She Goes a-Potato-ing

Day Two of the Blizzard of October Oh-Nine

Some images from the biggest storm to hit during the month of October in all of Colorado history. I'm exaggerating, but we've only been here two and half years.

The Matilda Plow

The Hostess Sno-Ball Outdoor Furniture Line

Circuit box

Air conditioner with a new 'do

There's a car under there somewhere

Bird Feeder

There's a tree under there somewhere

View from front porch

The roof of our house - check out the icicle in the corner


Do you think she's had enough yet?

Let it Snow

It started snowing last night around 7:00. It kept up all night and all today. Matilda the Welsh Pembroke Corgi puppy loved it. There is almost a foot of it on the ground.

Even More Matilda!

Wherein she finds a green water snake in her kiddie pool.

Play Ball!

As promised, new video of Matilda, the Corgi puppy. Corgis are herding dogs, but Matilda doesn't have access to a herd of cows, a flock of sheep, or even a flock of geese. She is scared of those.

What she does have is a $2.00 beach ball from Wal-Mart, onto which I drew a cow face. Matilda loves telling it what to do and where to go.

(Un)steady as She Goes

This is my brain on drugs.

I haven't posted for a month, since August 21st, when I wished everyone a Happy Friday. That Sunday, August 23rd, I woke to find my world spinning. It's been downhill ever since.

It turns out I had a case of vestibular neuritis, an inflammation of the nerves in the inner ear. The main symptom is extreme vertigo. Definitely had that; I couldn't sit or stand without feeling as if I were falling. A two-week course of prednisone alleviated the vertigo, but, as anyone who has ever taken steroids knows, they bring their own set of side-effects. Inability to sleep and an EXTREME! energy boost were the two that affected me the most.

Most mornings I would be wide awake at 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. Whatever needed (or didn't need) doing, I did it. I baked, made lunches, and made dinners - all before anybody else woke up, including the dog. I dusted, vacuumed, mopped, and cleaned. And I do mean cleaned. By golly, I reckon I scrubbed those faucets so hard to where they didn't say "Hot" nor "Cold" no more. I also watched way too much crappy late-nite TV. Although I have to say "Reno 911" is very funny...

I even rearranged almost the entire house. I turned our formerly nearly useless living room, which is in the front of the house, into a cozy sitting room, mostly by bringing in furniture from other rooms. Moving as I was at hummingbird-like speeds, it only took a few hours. Once I did that, one of my sons suggested that the TV/movie room would look better if it were rearranged, too. That was all the motivation I needed. It's been moved a little to the left.

Now that I'm off the steroids, the hyper-energized state I was in is waning. What I'm left with is exhaustion, and a queasy quandary about which might be worse - the upside or the downside. Right now, I'll settle for a balance between the two.

Tomorrow - more video of Matilda, the Corgi puppy!

Happy Friday everyone!

Happy Friday, Everybody

Let's all get out there and do something fun! Like bobbing for Pup-a-Roni in a kiddie pool after herding the ball.

Whole Shopping, or, Not with My Money, You Don't

Yesterday I wrote about a company (CIT Bank) that made me mad when it changed the terms of our contract and raised the interest due on the outstanding balance of my Dell account. I was very unhappy with the development, and rightly so.

However, I did not mean to imply that I was against the company acting "all corporation-y" (watch at your own peril) or that I was complaining about so-called abuses of capitalism. I'm sure that somewhere in our original contract is a clause that gives the financial institution the right to change the terms whenever economic conditions necessitate. It's probably in the very small print that most of us don't read. That's fine. It's also fine that the company exercised that clause.

It's even more fine that I exercised my option to cancel the contract. The company took the risk that I would when they raised my interest rates. It is definitely too bad, though. I have never had a problem with Dell products. I still don't. It's their financing division that I complained about.

Today is a different story. Many of you may have heard about an op-ed piece written for the Wall Street Journal by John Mackey, founder and CEO of Whole Foods. In the article, Mackey, who is a libertarian, proposed a free-market health care alternative to the one being pushed by our current administration. He has come under fire for speaking his mind (and no doubt for daring to challenge the current proposal), and for challenging what seems to be the prevailing view that health care is a right.

Those who disagree with Mackey's views have vowed to boycott Whole Foods, thereby cutting off their hummus to spite their falafels. They have every right to do so. A boycott is one of the surest ways to get one's opinions across about how a company is performing. It hits them where it hurts, in their balance sheets. I decided to boycott Dell, or at least CIT Bank, didn't I?

I subscribe to the Wall Street Journal and I read Mackey's piece. The link to his op-ed article is here. Read and decide for yourselves. In it, Mackey states: "Health care is a service that we all need, but just like food and shelter it is best provided through voluntary and mutually beneficial market exchanges. A careful reading of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution will not reveal any intrinsic right to health care, food or shelter. That's because there isn't any. This 'right' has never existed in America."

I agree with Mackey. So, instead of boycotting Whole Foods, I decided to champion them. I can't afford to shop them every day, but they have stuff I want, and stuff I need. I should say that one of the things that I have discovered about this neck of the woods is that I don't like the grocery stores here. If you have ever shopped at the Taj - Ma - Teeter on Friendly Avenue in Greensboro, you will know what I am missing. And the blue laws in Colorado are such that I can't even buy wine in the grocery stores I do shop in!!!

This morning I had to go into town (Boulder). While there, I visited the newly rennovated Whole Foods store on Pearl Street. I am gluten intolerant (the stuff I need), and Whole Foods has loads of GF products, and they are all extremely yummy. They are a bit pricey, but since time is money, and since I don't have time to do as much baking as I would like, today I spent my money instead. The Whole Foods products are worth it.

I also bought all the items I have not been able to find in the Safeway or the King Soopers (the stuff I want). Such as: really good salsa and very thin, crispy tortilla chips, some beautiful fresh basil, two gorgeous swordfish steaks, some Szechuan peppercorns (I have a recipe for a smoked chicken that uses these, which absolutely cannot be made without them), and some gluten free baked goods. I know I could have gotten some of these items in a farmers' market, but it is only open one day of the week, and today wasn't that day. And it is not open in the winter months.

Speaking of open air markets, I dream of the ones I shopped at in France in 2006. Never in my life have I been so overwhelmed by the choices. I like food, can you tell? But I digress.

Whole Foods has a dedicated gluten free bakery in Durham, NC. They make these:

Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes! They also make chocolate ones!

I also found this from a local Denver bakery, Udi's:

Gluten Free White Bread!

And guess what? It's soft! Most GF breads have to be toasted to be palatable. This one claimed it didn't. But I was skeptical. As soon as I got it home, I opened the bag, took out a slice, and gave it a sniff. Good. Then I twisted it. Better - it was soft. I held my breath while I loaded up a slice with peanut butter. I folded it, and took a bite. OMG. Or as Homer Simpson would say, "aarrrmmmph, aarrrmmmph, aarrrmmph." For twenty years I have been craving a gummy peanut butter sandwich. The kind that gobs up in your mouth when you eat it. And today I got it.

I grilled the swordfish for dinner. I served it with a chimmichuri sauce made from the fresh basil. It was delicious. I think I will have a cupcake for dessert.

Not all corporations are "corporation-y." The one run by John Mackey is one of the best ones I know. Whole Foods gives its customers choices - lots of them. It doesn't force you to buy the $15.00 a pound swordfish. But it offers it to you if you want it. It doesn't make you buy their house brand of canned artichoke hearts, but it sits on the shelf if you want it. It doesn't tell you that you need its goat cheese, fresh spinach, locally grown yams, fresh anchovies, grass-fed beef, warm baguettes, Indian breads, fresh pizza dough, or gluten free cupcakes. But they are all right there if you want them, and are willing to pay the price.

Today, I was, and I did. Tomorrow I might need to go to Costco for my paper towels and my olive oil. But it's my choice. And I'm glad I can still make it.