World, Meet Larry - Friday 10/19/2007

Larry, meet the world.

I saw this dog hanging out at Priscilla's a few weeks ago, and thought about asking his owner if I could take his picture, but then chickened out.

Not today, though! He and his owner were sitting on the bench next to my car. She'd spilled ice cubes onto the sidewalk for him and he was busily lapping them up. I told her my husband grew up with an English Bulldog and he'd love to see photos of this fine fellow.

She was delighted!

It has amazed me lately how many people are willing to let me take photos of them, their pets, their kids. It's worth asking. I had a nice chat with this woman and we exchanged names. She lives in the neighborhood and is down there again.



Larry likes skateboards. He likes them so much he's learning to ride one himself!


Hey, where'd they go?


Another discovery I've made from taking a photo everyday: If you have a nice camera and are willing to squat in public places people will assume you are legitimate. (You don't even need to back it up with a clipboard, but I'll bet you could get into some amazing places wielding both!)


As I was squatting on the sidewalk, a friend of Larry's owner's came up and was a bit flustered.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said after having walked up and hugged her. "Are you taking photos?"

"Yes, but it's okay."

"I mean, are you having like a photo shoot?"

Hee hee!

No. But I could be!

And Now for Something Completely Different

{Image from the Internet}

Cool Thing: We'll get back to our regularly scheduled parade of photographs soon. For now, check out this movie my friend Truly made for me. Click here and turn up the volume.

Small Office, Big Hearts - Thursday 10/25/2007

OneL learned this week that she has breast cancer. Damn.

It's Stage One ductal. If you are familiar with these sorts of diagnoses, you know that this was caught early and that this is the very most survivable form.

But treatment still involves surgery, radiation and medication. (No chemo predicted at this point.) It's all scary.

Another coworker put these flowers on her chair for OneL to find in the morning. She even had it downlit a lot like this (recreated with software here.)

Sometimes working in a small company has its downsides, like a bit of career insecurity and having to pick up the slack and work long hours some times. But we do care about the business and our work and each other.

Stormy Bob - Wednesday 10/17/2007

The drizzle was almost gone by the time I took this shot, around 6:30 this morning, on my way out of Big Boy.

Yesterday I woke up at 1 a.m. and got so caught up in the book that was supposed to lull me back to sleep (Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen) that I was reading every last morsel of the author interview at the back when my alarm went off at 3:50.

So I drove down to Burbank but instead of going to Bob's I went and made a little nest on the floor of my office and slept during my usual writing time (5:15-6:30). I really needed it.

Today I was back at Bob's, making notes about the current novel as a whole. I recently wrote a scene that changes things and adds to the stakes and I feel good about it, but am taking Tomasina's advice to figure out where to go next rather than just charging happily forward.

This whole structuring thing is a puzzle. But I guess that's what makes it fun. The bulk of the plot as written during NaNoWriMo 2007 is still ahead of my heroine. Where does the new scene fit in? At the beginning? As back story after the original beginning?

Fall Foods - Tuesday 10/16/2007

I love winter squashes. Last year I found one at Food4Less that was really wonderful. Can't remember the name of it for certain.

All I know is that it is not this squash.

The grower told me it was a kabocha, but I don't think that's correct.

I baked its twin, but it was more like a summer squash inside and became a watery mess. I was looking for something textured like an acorn squash.

I will live to find another interesting and delicious winter squash. I will!

Kettle Detail - Monday 10/15/2007

Me and my tea kettle. Brewing up no trouble. Working from home.

Heading Home - Sunday 10/14/2007

Moi, Rona and Jack heading up to the campsite to settle up for the weekend. Hydra took this shot and a bunch that are better, but I don't like to publish photos of identifiable people.

I handle the reservations and site assignments for our group, and Jack's there to decide with Rona (the camp manager) which four weekends we'll be here in 2008. I love coming to the same place because we're here for the music and the company more than the travel aspect.


BB's chair doesn't know yet that it's almost time to go home.



Because our route home was closed down due to the horrific accident on the South 5, we cut across Santa Clarita and Newhall and passed by the Lombardi Ranch on the way home.

These old vehicles were in the background.

The Day Outside - Saturday 10/13/2007

I spent a lot of the day outside in front of the camper copying panels from Craig Thompson's graphic novel Blankets, which I'd just finished reading. Good story about first love and spiritual crisis.

Oh, and Dodger spent a lot of the day outside, too, on the picnic table beside me.



Glen's an amazing fiddle player. Just makes the thing sing. When I took this shot I thought the inscription on the back of the fiddle was "HOPE" rather than "HOPF" (the maker), but I still like it.

We were standing around a campsite, singing harmonies to songs ranging from tunes from Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou? to "Ba Mir Bist Du Shoen" (Andrews Sisters) type stuff.



Hydra practices in front of our rig. Not sure we'll be able to take it out again this year. Already feeling home-away-from-home sick.

Fillmore, CA - Friday 10/12/2007

Sunrise over the Starbucks parking lot in Fillmore. On Thursday night we joined friends to camp out and make music all weekend. Crept into town early in the morning for coffee and chai tea latte and reading, and watching the locals come and go. Perfect.



Another ice house! I'm pretty sure.


A little girl's sandal in the street in front of the ice house.