’03 September

I took a break from Carol’s 40th birthday extravaganza to walk around the block in Belmont Shores, Long Beach and snap some little house pics. That’s what we do these days.

Frankly, the whole magila of Carol’s birthday is too long for even me to relate what with her pretend party, her real surprise party and her really big surprise party, just suffice it to say that Alex was going around assuring everyone that once this was over we would have nothing to do but agree ‘you are the studly prince, and we are humble in your presence’.

more.

Not a little house but cool windows.

I am now apparently obsessed with removing cars. I removed a car from that biker’s picture in Sequoia and didn’t even mention it. In this picture I’ve removed a honkin’ parked car from beside the sidewalk.

You do remember about my 5 minute attention span and I can guarantee that this process took less than 5 minutes. Another day I might add another 5 minutes to the alloted time to smooth up the road. But the fact that you can completely Remove the Entire car in 5 minutes or less Entirely is mind boggling.

Ooops, I just noticed the leash…

Bonnie needed a picture for her For Life Legacy brochure so we snapped a few and then Richard and Emilia came over to their place for a good home cooked dinner and a pleasant evening’s conversation.

This one she liked just as it came out of the camera…

…so of course I had to mess with it.

The Vixen, company out of business since 1989. I’m thinking what exactly?

Nancy, kind and generous soul, comes with me to look. Notice the fog of confusion that seems to engulf her. During our walk-through she regained consciousness long enough to whisper ‘please don’t die’. Her final observation: ‘I have never been, nor could I imagine being, further from Nancyland’.

Joan wanted a picture to send home. I did a set last year around this time too, but now I know about Gaussian Blur…

She used to be a model!

I was just going to buzz down to LACMA to make sure everything was in order for Windy’s birthday party. That’s what I was thinking but once there – well, of course, Photo-Op!!

Ever since they expanded the museum way back when this is what is meant to represent the ‘entrance’. Blink once and you miss it. It’s basically a hallway with stairs and a water feature that sounds like a something is leaking.

The Asian arts pavilion and, inescapably, a woman on the phone.

What? You ask. Art! I say.

How could I have forgotten there would be this opportunity too, to take a quick stop at the La Brea Tar Pits. Ah, my youth revisited except for that big building, the Page Museum, and those statues weren’t there at first…

The workers all have signs in front of their workstations telling what they are doing. It’s pretty cool.

At least it was Sunday and the usual Mogul Hordes of school groups were not around. There were however some kids and their families with plenty of pitiful whining and parents threatening if you don’t cool it right-this-second we’ll never Ever take you out of the house again Ever so cut it out now.

And in contrast there was this one lively family with five kids aged about 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13. The five year old had the whole group enthralled over his joyful and enthusiastically acted out telling of a sabre toothed tiger story he had read recently. They actually clapped for him! Nice siblings!!

This guy was six feet tall and weighed 1,400 pounds. He was a middle sized sloth, related to today’s armadillo, and they figure he ate a lot of grass. The sign didn’t mention that toe nail…

One of these days I should practice with the tripod. I wouldn’t have had to flash, (eventhough this is ‘slow sync’ because normal flash produced nasty results,) and then maybe I wouldn’t have got that showdow.

Michael sent this picture of his house. I had to put it here. It’s so grown-up. Like a tv family.

Dad should have a pipe and a smart briefcase the kids gave him last year for Christmas and the slightly bedraggled look of the academic and Mom should be leaving the house dressed all snappy for the monthly meeting of the Women’s Guild at church where she heads up the charity fund.

Not one word of this applies to Michael and Linda…

It was going to be Windy’s birthday and Lona and I had been fooling around with some ideas for a party. Before we had come up with The idea Windy said how much she hoped she’d be able to see the French Impressionist show at LACMA.

Voila! a theme. And no, we didn’t just get out of the shower and no, we are not all prepped for surgery. We are A*rt*ists!

And although all the curators were buzzing around our work, we couldn’t leave them for general exhibit of course, because they are Gifts! for Windy! Happy Birthday!

Getting ready for Sandy’s big day we go for a morning walk. Across the street from their house…

…and along the way. Mutant houseplants.

It’s D&A’s fourth anniversary. They went off separately and bought each other cards. They bought each other the same card. What does this mean?

Just color turned into b&w… actually, a tri-tone and a desaturated color background, and then a brush filter and some level adjustment and who knows what all else.

Sandy’s art show! Everybody who was Anybody was there. Darryl and Angela came, and Nancy, and Roger of course who did ALL the heavy lifting and without whom it wouldn’t have happened. Roger went and got Sandy’s parents so they could come. Some friends of Roger’s from work came.

And here we have The Fam. Randy, the father of China, Dori, the sister of Randy, China, the daughter, Doug, the daughter’s fiancée, Charlie, Randy’s wife of more than 20 years and one of Sandy’s best friends, and Beverly, a part of Sandy’s travel business and a dear friend.

It’s a bit embarrassing, not that that stops me necessarily, getting a crowd to line-em-up. I should have snapped a few more times as, sorry gang, this was the only one so this is it and no matter What Sandy looks gorgeous in Every picture.

To The Grove, and a flick with Marsha.

At Maggiano’s where we enjoyed a quiet respite from the storms of Out There. Who can resist adorable children – their birthdays a few days apart, ages 4, 5 and 6. Quick! Get the camera! Why else are you carrying that thing around!

I’m practicing…

Me and the Valley Girls, gathered to watch Becky’s play. It was the last performance, a practically sold out crowd of, it seemed, hugely supportive family and friends. The productiion was well reviewed by the local press and from what I heard the whole run went really well. Happy HAPPY Becky.

It strikes me to note – the age range of this crowd is 38 to 85. Really.

Enough already with this cut-out business? My thumb is sore from all the holding and clicking…