Such Sweet Hands

I was unaware of the fire until we stepped out for an errand. Before that I had merely noticed the pink cast to the light and thought about the dust storms of my Lubbock childhood. Thanks to dust storms, a pink lit day is sort of just right for spring out there. I didn’t bother to wonder why it was pink here though. Luckily we were headed to see a condo and I brought my camera along. I snapped a ton of photos as we happened to drive in the general direction of the fire.

This is the intersection of Olympic and Western. Other folks got pictures from much closer, but I love that this humble Burbank grass fire made itself seen all the way to Koreatown.

Having spent the first 15 years of my life livng in a windy and thunderstormy sort of place, today’s windy weather made me feel right at home. Where I’m from this is how March is supposed to be: shiney bright sun with huge gusts of wind that come out of nowhere. If only the barometric pressure would have dropped and things sat still for a couple of minutes. Not that I’m wishing a tornado on Los Angeles, but sometimes I miss that tingly feeling you get when you breathe in that eerie air that warns of one. Maybe it’s just time for a springtime visit back home.

This is the view from the courtyard. Poor recently bloomed plants! There are petals everywhere!

Honestly, Monday was a tough day.  I worked hard, felt sick, had one of those identity crisis where one spends the afternoon tallying ones worth.  I worked some more and then I indulged in 3 hours of the final episodes of Six Feet Under.  Damn, that final segment is simply breathtaking and a good antidote to the afternoon’s troubles.  I love a show that kills off all it’s major characters with such grace…

I didn’t feel much like taking pictures, but that’s the nice thing about flowers.  When I moved to Southern California I knew any trying mental state could always get a reprieve thanks to the flowers.  I feel like a spoiled girl getting to live on this courtyard  full of roses and calla lilies.

Two Sundays in a row we’ve gone to Cha Cha Cha. Last week it was brunch before Felted Circuits class and this week it was early dinner after class. It’s simply one of the yummiest and most satisfying places. And who can refuse decor that is so colorful, with strings of lights and and all sorts of interesting altars. These last two visits we’ve been seated by a new piece in honor of our mayor.  I noticed it makes a lot of people smile…

There’s no way around it. If I’m going to share a glimpse of the daily events of my life for a month, pizza eventually comes up. Not so much because of me, but because of Rob, my pizza loving sweetie. That’s him, with our friend Maiteeny, her passion for food and finding new places to try is only matched by Rob’s adoration of a great pizza. She tried out this new place, Vito’s, the night before and called us with a review so glowey we had to return with her the next day.

Most places don’t succeed at adding fresh veggies to a pizza. Things end up wet and sloppy. But this place makes a tasty spinach and ricotta pie. The ricotta is sweet and creamy, it really adds something…  Being able to order a slice of something veggie is a nice counterpoint to all those slices I get of Rob’s standard favorite: pepperoni and mushrooms, as seen above.

A fancy 3 course meal with wine pairing…  la dee daaa!

The meal included a fresh crab “salad” with enoki mushrooms and cucumbers.  The most I’ve ever enjoyed crab.  An amuse bouche of Strawberry Gazpacho.  My mouth was amused…  Then there was the soft poached egg served in shell amidst layers of cream and honey.  So soothing and yummy.  Gluttonous dining at it’s most civilized.

And yeah, those little tarts are soooo teeny tiny, but man they were so yummy.  I walked away from that meal totally full, but not stuffed.  Quite satisfying.

I took the subway to Pasadena and met up with my pal Tod in Old Town for tea.  It’s been a while since I took the subway here in LA and I have to say I like it more and more.  Neighborhoods are changing around the stops and more people are taking advantage of the opportunity to get around without a car.  It was interesting to watch the demographic of riders change depending on direction, part of town, and time of day.  I saw moms with strollers taking the kids out for a change of scenery, commuters, students (Pasadena City College runs a shuttle to the Allen station in Pasadena… very cool), and just about every stripe of Angelino.  I have to say it’s very encouraging.  And nothing beats moseying home on the train during rush hour and avoiding all that sitting in a car hating everyone feeling.  Isn’t that funny, in a subway car we’re all rather nice to each other, in our cars we’re all just in each other’s way.

As for the tea, I had a fine first flush Darjeeling.  A nice light spring tea.  I also very much enjoyed my scone, scattered crumbs left from the scone carnage are obvious in the picture…

Rob and I are taking the Felted Circuits class at the fabulous Machine Project.  The class is a pretty good combination of our separate abilities.  In the class we are learning about and making circuits that make noise and will put them in a felted creature we make from our own handmade and hand dyed felt.  It’s a four part class, part one was an introduction to both ends of the project, we used a software program to map out a circuit and we each wet felted too.  I had never done this version of felting and quickly wore some skin off of my hand…  I wonder if it’s in the felt now.

We brought our felt home so we could admire it through the week, but other class members hung theirs on the wall of the basement classroom.

On Saturday we went on a tour of new condo/lofts throughout downtown. We weren’t able to see everything, but we did see the ones that were the most interesting to us. Older buildings that have been retrofitted, gutted, nice old details restored, shiney new modernity implanted into the charming old facades. Each building was in various stages of construction, leaving even more room for the imagination. What my life would be like if I lived there, where would I keep my yarn, what could the cats stare at from each giant glass loft-like window. Truth is the real estate market in Los Angeles puts the space we need for two home offices just beyond our finger tips, but still your mind rattles through possibilities with each building, then I find myself standing in the model showcase for the fancy pants building, the one adjacent to a red line stop, the one across from nice stores, the one close to the library and the Whole Foods and Gelsons that are rumored to be on their way. All this jumps around in my brain as I try to figure out how I’d ever come close to contributing enough for us to afford the fancy pants place… and then the sales lady shows me the Italian designer bathtub….. and my brain stops. I’ll sign in blood, I’ll take on an office job I hate, I’ll make deals with devils, can I please spend an hour in that tub each day?

After the tour we chose Phillipes for double dip turkey sandwiches, pickles, and a densely sweet blueberry pie. From there we helped unload boxes at our friends’ new apartment (after judging condo spaces and comparing prices all day, it’s funny how I was summing up my pals’ new apartement, thinking about how much it would cost to buy it, etc), then we visited with neighbors for a while before meeting some friends at a tofu house for a late dinner. This was an uncommonly socially active day for this little hide in the house with my yarn kind of girl. (Rob calls me a mushroom, I like to sit in cool, calm, mildly lit rooms by myself.)

See pics from the tour on Flickr as soon as I get them up. I’ve been running behind with my photos. Things are just very busy in these parts.

Wilshire Blvd heading west toward Western Ave, sitting right next to the huge empty piece of land that once held the Ambassador hotel. Heading home from trip to fedex, which means one more project done and sent! I’ve got to say this little one is a sweetie too! I didn’t have time to snap a picture, but I’ve promised to make one for myself this weekend, so maybe I’ll give ya a sneak peek soon. I’ve got some writing to catch up on, then things will get a tad more interesting round here than just photo-a-day entries.

Wish I could show you: Today I saw the most thrilling picture of anything I’ve made for publication so far. Absolutely made my day. I usually don’t chat all secretive-like about projects I’ve contributed to, but this picture, if I could show it to you right now you’d totally agree it’s the bestest!

Something I wish I had a picture of: The guy so consumed with taking pictures of traffic on Wilshire with his cellphone that he sat through half a light… I almost took his picture, but was too busy honking my horn at the jackass.