The Assyrian Palace

There's a wonderful building in East Los Angeles, built in 1929. It was originally the Samson Tire Company. The visionary man who conceived of the building, was Samson Tire founder Adophe Schleicher, who wanted an epic manufacturing plant. With the name 'Samson', came visions of ancient Babylonia and Assyria, and so his vision came to pass, in the form of a 23-acre plant, and 1,750 foot long front wall with bas relief sculptures of winged bulls, heraldic eagle-headed genii, and Assyrian Princes. The massive structure was inspired by the palace of Assyrian King Sargon II, and was said to be dedicated to the ancient civilizations of Sumer, Akkad, Assur, and Babylon. That's quite a vision! These days you're lucky if a new corporate building has anything on the facade other than glass and a sign. A few years after it was built, it was purchased by the US Tire & Rubber Company, which later became Uniroyal.

I remember driving by this building often as a child, and I looked forward to seeing it as we whizzed by on the Santa Ana Freeway, on our way to Disneyland, or other points south.

It closed for good in 1978, and lay empty for many years, until 1990, when it opened its doors as Los Angeles's only factory outlet center: The Citadel. Actually, the plant itself is gone. The main office building, and the long walls are all that is left. The Citadel is a wonderful outlet center, and they've done a beautiful job of restoring and maintaining the facade of the buildings.

But what makes this building and architecture important to our family, is the Assyrian inspiration. Bruce is proudly Assyrian, and we've taught our children to be proud of their heritage and culture. The gorgeous sculpture and bas relief is authentic, meticulously recreated from some of the finest historic Assyrian art.

We stopped to take photos and explore the Citadel last weekend, as we were returning from dropping off our grandson Aidan with his Mom. Son Ian enjoyed the building as much as we did. (well, maybe not quite as much, now that I think about it, Ian was on the phone, and browsing the shops while we were taking pictures...) You can get a slightly larger view by clicking here.

I Love Grandsons!

We've had visits from both of our grandsons in the past week... last weekend 6-year old Aidan came to visit from Arizona, and we had a fantastic weekend. His Dad Ian came from Texas, and the two buddies went to Legoland together, and we all spent lots of time hanging out, and, as my Dad would say, buddifying.

Our kids Alec & Alicia are in the process of moving back to California from Utah, and Alicia and little Jackson are pretty much already back in town, staying with her folks, until everything settles down, and Alec is able to rejoin them permanently. He'll be commuting for quite awhile, but all in all, I think it will be really good for Alicia to be back close to family. We're thrilled to get to see our grandson all the time! Alicia & Jackson came over for dinner tonight, and we enjoyed playing with Jack. He's quite the smarty- he can count, say his alphabet, identify so many objects and colors, and string lots of words together to make wonderful sentences. AND, much to his Dad's joy, he's turning out to be quite athletic. I took these cute photos of him tossing the ball to his Mom.


On the other hand, getting a good photo of Aidan is a tough task... I never can quite manage to capture his 'real self', and so I sneak around with my camera, snapping away, only to discover that there isn't a great one in the bunch. He's a sweetie, but is a little shy and self conscious. I'll keep trying though! I do like this one quite a bit:


The most important thing is that we have the two sweetest little grandsons ever, and I'm so glad they are in our life, and in our family!

Jacarandas

I love May in Southern California... for that's when the jacarandas are in bloom. Jacarandas aren't like other flowering trees... where blooms are mixed with leaves. It seems as though jacaranda blossoms fill the entire tree, not just 'decorate' it. Plus, most jacaranda trees are very tall, so if you are looking at a panoramic view of the area, you can often see colorful lavender trees sprinkled around in many neighborhoods. Later, in June, when the petals start to fall, it looks like lavender snow, everywhere you look. So pretty!

Contest Winner!

I entered the California State Fair Scrapbooking competition this year, and won third place in the category I entered, which was travel. I just got the notice yesterday, and I was thrilled to be a winner! That means that my layout will be on display at the State Fair in Sacramento from July 14-July 31. I was quite pleased, because this is not a digital scrapping contest, but just scrapbooking. So, for digital layouts to get a fair shake is great news! My online friend Tiff, also entered, and she won an Award of Merit.

Here's my layout, it's a modification of a layout I posted earlier here, but wanted to combine the best of my photos into one layout instead of two.

Slightly Better Than Average *Edited!!!

This past week on one of my favorite scrapping websites, I participated in a challenge that was all about creating a layout about something that we are good at. I decided to do mine about photography. Not because I'm a good photographer... I consider myself slightly above average. But what I do think I'm good at is taking lots of photos, composing them well, and finding interesting things to photograph. I guess what I'm good at is having a good eye for photography. My technical skills are so-so... I rarely venture away from the auto settings on my camera. My son says he thinks I could be a professional photographer if I wanted, but really, I don't want to. I'm happy just noodling away, snapping pictures willy-nilly, and hoping for a few good ones. Here are a few slightly better than average ones.

After I got this layout done, I realized that the perspective bothered me... the camera was a 3/4 view, yet the little photo lenses were straight-on views. So I thought I'd try it in perspective to see if I liked it better. What do you think? Which one do you prefer? (I love digital... I can make a major change like this, and decide which one I like best without destroying the original!)

Wilshire Ward

This lovely building is the Wilshire Ward, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Los Angeles. The structure was designed by Harold W. Burton in 1928, and it was finished and dedicated in 1929. At the time the church was built, it was quite the showplace. Special attention was paid to the details: soaring tower, architectural motifs, beautiful woodwork, and stunning stained glass windows. Mormon churches aren't generally known for their stained glass windows- but in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many LDS churches had simple stained glass. Since this building was meant to serve as a meeting house for several congregations, it was larger and more ornate than most. Fortunately, although the neighborhood has fallen into, shall we say kindly, hard times, the church itself is as beautiful and majestic as ever. (Click on the layout for a closer view!)

When Bruce and I were first married, we lived in Hollywood. The Wilshire Ward was where we came for our Stake Conferences (twice yearly multi-congregation conferences), and where we attended workshops and special events. When Bruce sang with the Southern California Mormon Choir, they held their weekly rehearsals there. I've only been back a handful of times in the past 15 years or so, and one of those times was May 7, when my nieces Sarah & Emily invited me to attend a Women's Conference there, where Sarah gave a wonderful presentation on her business. Of course, I had my camera close by, and was able to shoot some nice pictures of one of my favorite churches in the world.

Topanga 2011

Sunday I attended the 51st annual Topanga Banjo & Fiddle Contest held at Paramount Ranch in Agoura, CA. I've attended every year but one (2009) since 1995, when we moved back to California, and a few times back in the mid '70s. I volunteer every year to do the calligraphy for the awards certificates, and for the past 2 years, Bruce has volunteered to be one of the official photographers. Unfortunately, Bruce had a kidney stone flare-up on Sunday, and was unable to go. So I went by myself, and handled both jobs. I took over 500 photos, and most of them came out really good. It's fun to just roam around and catch all of the fun characters playing music, listening, performing, jamming, competing, singing, dancing, eating, and just enjoying the beautiful Southern California scenery. The weather was lovely, if a bit windy and chilly. (Click here for a larger view of the layout)

You might remember that I entered the T-shirt design contest again this year,
but, alas, I didn't win. I was really happy with the design they picked, I thought it was fun and whimsical, and well done. You can see it in one of the tiny photos if you click on the layout. It's the cute design in yellow, orange and blue with the white background. I think all of the attendee photos turned out really fun! Enjoy!

Sandy Koufax and Me

When I was a young girl, back in the early 'sixties, I was totally crazy about Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax. Sandy was not only talented, but in my eyes, very good looking, and single. Now, I knew he was much too old for my eleven-year-old self, but my older sister Lynne was in her early twenties, a college graduate, and an even bigger Dodger fan than me. I think I hoped that maybe beautiful Lynne would catch his eye at a Dodger game, and it would be love at first sight. (Well, that romance never happened, but I still thought he was the most amazing baseball player of all time). Sandy's pitching was like beautiful dance moves... power and grace, and elegance. I kept meticulous records of his stats, and collected baseball cards, and two years worth of Dodger promotions that were given out at 76 Union gas stations in those years. Anything I had about Sandy was a treasure.

In the spring of 1962, around the time baseball season started, we had my bedroom redecorated. It was time get rid of the pink ballerina wallpaper, and choose something a bit more sophisticated and fresh. Mom and I went to the wallpaper store, and lo and behold, the salesman convinced me that the cool blue and white striped wallpaper he was showing me was Dodger blue, and would be a great way to show my baseball loyalty. I agreed. I really liked that wallpaper, but I'm not convinced it was really Dodger blue wallpaper, just a nice blue & white stripe. (I had to add some stripes to my layout, to remind me of my fun 2" wide, bold blue & white striped wallpaper, which remained on my walls for about 4 more years).

A month or so later, I drew a picture of Sandy Koufax, and mailed it to him with a fan letter. I don't know if I expected to get anything back from him, but I think I secretly hoped my artwork would get his attention in some way. At the end of the summer, I was at Camp Singing Pines, our Girl Scout Camp in the Angeles Forest, when I got a special envelope. I remember so well, I was sitting on a log at the camp fire area, when our counselor brought the mail over... when I opened the envelope, which had been forwarded from my Mom, I saw a beautiful photo of Sandy, and right on it, in his own handwriting, was MY NAME! In his own handwriting! Really! And his signature! Not a 'fake' signature, or just his name, but MINE too! I was ecstatic! I fell over backwards off the log, and I jumped around and told everyone that I got a personal autograph and message from Sandy Koufax. Honestly, you'd have thought I got an autograph from the plumber, from the response I got. None of those girls knew who Sandy Koufax was! Can you believe it? I was crushed (for a minute, until I remembered that I had Sandy Koufax's autograph!) And I still do!

Stuff-athon!

Today I was able to take the day off work to participate in a wonderful charitable project sponsored by the Toy Industry Foundation (the charitable arm of the Toy Industry Association). We spent four hours putting together duffel bags crammed full of goodies for at-risk children and teens. The fabulous charity that does this amazing work is called My Stuff Bags, and you may be familiar with all of the wonderful things they do to make these children's lives so much less traumatic. When young people need to be removed from their homes due to abuse, neglect or other reasons, they usually leave with just the shirt on their backs. The kits My Stuff Bags provide, contain toiletries, blankets, toys, books, games, notebooks, and other treasures. The toy industry donates a ton of toys, games and other playthings for the children. Other corporations donate astounding amounts of goods, and individuals and organizations also donate items, often homemade- like scarves, hats, blankest, etc. I don't know how many thousands of bags were assembled, but it was a huge number. It was so fun to see so many toy industry associates (who are usually in serious competition) working together for a good cause.

I was surprised to see that the event was supported by a celebrity or two- Danica McKellar, the actress, worked just as long and hard as anyone else (and in 4 inch high heels!), and I was pleased to look up from my bag-stuffing to see Michael Reagan, son of Ronald Reagan, working right across from me. Santa was there, now I know where all of those extra toys at Christmastime go! Channel 7 News covered the event, and our State Senator Tony Strickland made an appearance. They fed us a great lunch afterwards, and we all left, exhausted but happy for the work we were able to do!
(Click here for a closer look!)

More Fun With Tilt-Shift Photography!

Well, I don't have this whole tilt-shift technique down pat, but I'm having lots of fun playing with it... (You can read more about tilt-shift photography, and my attempts to replicate it in my previous post here- basically it involves using a special camera lens to take quasi-aerial photographs that make the scene look like a scale model. The 'fake' version uses Photoshop to get the same effect. I'm not that great, but it's fun!)
Here are a few of my original photos, all taken in Hong Kong in January:














And here's the results of my first attempt at some tilt-shift Photoshopping- right and below:
(click on any of the photos for a closer view)






















Of course, I couldn't leave well enough alone, especially since these examples aren't exactly earth shattering. So, I decided to add something unique to each one, hoping for a totally new concept, and voila, here are the results!

Mother's Day 2011

We had a lovely Mother's Day, even though all of my children are far away. I received calls and/ or gifts from all of them, and we got to video chat with son Alec, wife Alicia and little grandson Jackson too!

My sister Lynne orchestrated a spectacular Mother's Day dinner... it was at our house, and although the crowd was smaller than in years past, it was perfect. Present were Bruce & I, sister Lynne & brother-in-law Bruce (yes there are two Bruces in the family), nephew Doug, and my Mom. I took the cutest picture of Mom standing next to the dining room table... good light helps, but a beautiful model is the best way to get a good photo! Mom is 99, and I can't think of a more beautiful 99-year-old in the whole world. Inside and out!

I was very proud of myself for my table... at the very last possible minute, I had a brainstorm. I had bought these little tin buckets at Michael's for Amy's wedding Open House, and they were just sitting on the kitchen counter when I took notice. I thought how cute they would look as table decorations... there were 6 of us for dinner, and there were 6 buckets. But what to put in them? I grabbed my scissors, and went outside, and saw a lovely wild rose bush right in front of the house in a common area (well, we do pay home owners dues, right?) So I just clipped away, adding some greenery, ivy, and these little white decorative something-or-others, to my bucket. I quickly took my ill-gotten gains into the house, and started piling them into the buckets. No water, just greenery. I put one on each salad plate, and I felt like one of those exquisite florists featured on one of my favorite design blogs. I'm not one of those craftsy or domestic types, so this was kind of out of character for me. I do set a pretty table, but I don't go out of my way to make or buy things for special occasions. Here are a couple of photos of the table. I think it looks very sweet!


I always make my own cards, this is the design I gave my Mom this year:

The message on the inside said: "Thanks for teaching me everything I know about how to be a good Mom!" I think she liked it! (That's Mom & me, in about 1956. I thought she looked like she was shaking her finger at me, hence the scolding reference!)

Tilt-Shift Photography

Recently, I've been reading a lot about 'tilt-shift photography'. That's a technique where a special camera lens is used to take photos, usually from above, or panorama style, that make the view look like it's a miniature scale-model scene. You can read more, and see examples here. It's really cool, many of the photo examples are mind-bogglingly deceptive! In my reading, I also discovered that there are Photoshop techniques (natch!) which allow you to create your own effect, without the special camera. All you need are photos shot from above, of which I have many. The first one I tried was based on this photo, which I took of a playground in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, there were no children in the play area, but oh well!

Although most of the photos in the samples I saw were very large views... and mine was a smaller view, a little closer, I thought it might be fun to give it a try. I studied the tutorial for creating this effect, and decided I could figure out an easier way (also, natch) so I played for just a few minutes and came up with this photo to the left. I showed it to Bruce, not telling him what it was supposed to be or how I did it. He thought it looked 'fake' as he said. I took that to mean that my effect at least partially worked.. it does like kind of fake-y! That's a good start. But the one missing ingredient were children or other 'miniatures'. I think the scene just needed something else. So I thought, 'why take real stuff and try to make it look fake? Why not take fake stuff and try to make it look really fake?' So I modified my photo just a little bit!

Here's the final result:
(Click on any
of the images
for a closer veiw)

Malibu

I think I see a trend coming on... I liked my Salt Lake layout so much (how conceited of me!) that I decided to follow through on my threat to do more of these, by picking my favorite Malibu photos from the past few months. I suppose this type of layout would make a nice cover for a travel album. If I ever get around to doing a travel album....

Salt Lake

Sometimes I just feel like doing something simple and graphic. I've been thinking of doing a series of similar layouts about some of the places I've been in the past few months, and doing them like this.

So, these are a few of the photos I took while we were in Salt Lake in March for Amy's wedding. It was fun finding photos that would work with an extremely tall and skinny format! The only problem I can see doing more of these, is if the place name is really long... I'll try to avoid visiting Chattanooga or Philadelphia in the next little while! I think the next one will be Malibu....

The Wedding Present

I have a special friend whom I've known since I was six years old. Terri and I became acquainted when she went to kindergarten at El Centro School. I was a first grader, and Terri lived just a few blocks away. Her Mom and my Mom became friends, so Terri and I became friends too. Although Terri moved on to Holy Family School for the rest of her grade school years, we stayed friends throughout the rest of our years in South Pasadena schools. When she was married, I was a bridesmaid, and when I was married a few months later in 1978, she was one of my bridesmaids. She and her husband Cary gave Bruce and I a very memorable and unusual wedding present. We were so surprised to open our gift to discover an old wooden prototype steam valve from 1867. What a treasure! Why would Terri think to get me something so unique and memorable? I guess she knew even then, that I loved old things, and that something like that would be a conversation piece, and certain never to be exchanged or put in the back of a cupboard somewhere. Well, that wonderful piece was always on display everywhere we moved. From our first little cottage in Hollywood, to Rhode Island, two homes in Minnesota, to Western New York, and back to California, that wooden steam valve has come along with us. I've found photos from each of those houses, and you can spot the unique model sitting proudly, among my ever-growing collections of old things. I guess you might say that valve inspired much of the collecting I've done through the years. (click on the image for a closer view)

Two weeks ago when we had Amy's Open House, it was so nice to see Terri and Cary again. Seeing her reminded me that I needed to take that old wooden valve down from the shelf, dust it off, and take some pictures of it. So I did. Being the curious type, after shooting a dozen or so shots, I decided to find out a little more about the inventor of this marvelous contraption: William G. Pike, whose name was on the model, and on the patent card that came with it. Thanks to Ancestry.com, I was able to discover that he was born in 1820 in Maine, and that he lived in Philadelphia. He applied for another patent, this one also for a steam valve, a couple of years earlier. Perhaps this new model was an improvement upon his 1865 patent. I discovered his address in Philadelphia, and even went on Google Earth to see if the house was still there. It was, but it looks like the old home has gotten a bit rundown in the 150 years since he lived there.



Well, this story has gotten a bit long and boring, but I just wanted to create a little layout about the most unusual wedding present, and to thank Terri for her friendship, and for her thoughtful and creative gift 33 years ago!

Scrapbooking.com

This month, I have an article (actually it's two) about two of my layouts and how I created them. You can find it here: Scrapbooking.com

I was very honored to have been selected to contribute to the online magazine, this is my second article publication, although I have had several layouts chosen for their featured layouts segment. One cool feature is they do a little audio/video YouTube segment, with a picture of my layout and someone else's voice reading my words. It sounds a lot better than my own croaky voice, that's for sure!