Thursday, November 30, 2006
three deer at noon
Here is a close-up of one of the three deer that came galloping down the street the other day....I just happened to be out there taking some pictures of a bird or two when I heard them running because a car behind them had frightened them....I watched them quickly climb up the hill, across from me and disappear in the scrub that traverses the hill....But not before I was able to catch them mid-run.....
And you can just see the back of that car that scared them down in the lower right corner of the picture...it had slowed down when they realized there were deer in front of them....you can see the red light at the top showing they were braking....
And just below is the middle one...I love that you can see his/her shadow so clearly....it was a beautiful cool sunny day....
These are such beautiful sweet animals I do not understand anyone wanting to shoot and kill them for 'sport'....it just seems so very cruel to me....
I was able to isolate the first one, as well....
THey look so vulnerable to me....And here below are the middle one and the last one together, and a bit closer....
This all happened so quickly that the only other pictures I got were after they had almost disappeared under the scrub up there...And the last one kind of stayed in one place just long enough for me to get a pretty good picture of his tush....
Just another day on Castilian Drive....I was amazed that it was around 12:30pm....Usually we will see the deer late in the afternoon, or in the early evening....but the truth is, you just have to be in the right place at the right time to have the privelage of their fleeting company....It was a great gift to not only see them but for my camera to do exactly what I needed it to do by allowing them to be in perfect focus....as Blanche DuBois said in "A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams: "Sometimes there's God, so quickly...."
So, one more time.....
More To Come......
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| posted by OldOldLady Of The Hills at 2:45 AM
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
cats on tuesday
Today begins Cats On Tuesady....a wonderful idea thought up by Gattina...and there are quite a few of us who will be doing this...What are we doing? We are writing about and showing pictures of our Cat(s). There are sooooo very many of us who are "owned" by cats, yes...OWNED by them, heart and soul....so there is now this designated day...Cat Tuesday where we devote our posts for that day to each of our dear purring four footed darlings....
My Darling is "Sweetie". As many of you already know....Sweetie rules the roost. He is very quiet about it but---when you come down to it---he is 'The Boss'. And a better boss a person could not ask for!
Another favorite place of his is 'in' or on, one of his Condominium's...(he has three)...but the one in the picture below is without a doubt, his very favorite...
And there above.....(what the hell is that space all about????) he is in his condo.....though sometimes he is on 'the deck' of this condo, too! I'll shoe you that another time....But for now, I love this next picture because I was trying to catch him---mid flight---getting into his condo....
LOL, LOL, LOL...He is very very fast, sometimes.....He is a delightful person....so beautiful and those gorgeous blue eyes. He is such a great great comfort....And, as I have said many many times....As Sweet as his name....And here below is "The Sweetster" looking tres tres beautiful, surveying everything within his view from one of the chairs in the den....
That is it for this Tuesday....
More To Come......
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| posted by OldOldLady Of The Hills at 1:15 AM
Sunday, November 26, 2006
views
I think this speaks for itself.......Sometimes, photographs just take my breath away....the picture above does that to me....in fact, my whole view does that to me, depending on the day....the weather....the smog.....the sunset....
Another fabulous sky.....Oh My..... And just one more because sometimes there are too many and you can't really take them in....and when that is the case, you miss the 'experience'....you know?
I'm off to 'dreamland' now....I hope I dream about these gorgeous sky's....
More To Come.....
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| posted by OldOldLady Of The Hills at 3:50 AM
Friday, November 24, 2006
the past nudged by the present
A million years ago, I was "coaching" in New York City at a place called VAMP Studios. Voice, Arrangements, Music, and Production...V.A.M.P.This was the full service place for the budding singer and in some cases for the already Performing Professionally, singer/actress/actor.
The 'principals' involved in this fantastic one-stop service were, VOICE: Richard Camillucci, of whom I have spoken before....
Arrangements: Luther Henderson (pictured to the right) one of the finest Musical Arranger/Conductor/Composers of the 20th Century---(Google him, please....he was one amazing gentleman), and Music...well, everything these men did involved 'music' but indeed, there were a number of accompanists that played for the recipients of these services....and they were all fantastically talented....and last but not least, Production: Buster Newman. Buster was an amazing man that knew how to bring out the best in you and the best in producing a professional 'nightclub act'. As a team, these guys were unstoppable.
I met a lot of wonderful people through VAMP Studios....many of whom remain in my life, or did till they passed on, to this day....One of the Great Great people I met was a woman named Marcella Markham.
She was an actress and a singer working with Buster and Cami on improving and refining her skills. She was married to a very interesting man...quite a bit older than she was...Frank Kingdon and they had a little boy about 5 years old, named Tom. Frank was a wonderful writer and a liberal activist---having backed Henry Wallace and The Progressive Party back in 1947-48, but who had fallen into the Blacklist Hole of the early 50's, which had sent him packing....and had also sent him to the 'ghost writing'-farm where he wrote for some of the most famous political men of his generation who were not afraid to hire him to pretend he was them, as long as no one found out. This is where things were, when I met Marcella. She had been in the Original Broadway production of Eugene Oneill's "The Iceman Cometh"...playing 'Cora'....a landmark production which opened on Broadway in 1946. I met Marcella in 1953. She was nine years older than me.Marcella was a born and bred New Yorker and we really hit it off, big time.
She had a great sense of humor and was incredibly bright and endlessly interesting to me....She was in my eyes a very sophisticated woman with great heart. A woman who followed her own star so to speak and was not anything like anyone I had known before that time, and certainly not like any one of my peers....and, it turned out she had a very handsome brother who happened to be a trumpet player then working as a salesman for the then rather large department store in the Bronx called Alexander's. And I met him because Marcella thought we would make a nice couple. We began dating and I was crazy about him. Sometimes I would stay overnight at Frank & Marcella's apartment in the city....so that Bob and I could have more time together....It was a very exciting time....This memory of Marcella and in turn her brother Bob was stirred by an article I read in the New York Times the other day. It was about that fascinatingly gifted English actor, Bill Nighy. Remember him in "Love Actually"? He was the over-the-hill
Rocker guy who has a comeback with his most famous recording....I LOVED that movie a lot! And I adored Bill Nighy a lot, a lot!! Since that time he has had a much higher profile in the United States, being cast in many many films, three of which are coming out soon...and he is opening at The Music Box Theatre on Broadway in a play called "The Vertical Hour" on November 30th....thus, this interview-article in The Times titled "A Veteran Actor's New Role: Thinking Woman's Crumpet". It is a charming artcle and covers the fact that at 56 Bill Nighy is suddenly the 'leading man' who gets the girl...it was charming and very informative, too.In the article he talks a great deal about his early years as an actor and his even earlier years as a young teenager, leaving home after listening to Bob Dylan's first album...and what happened to him after that...Okay, Okay...I'm getting to the Marcella Markham part....
He speaks about his very first professional job as an actor where he played a body guard. This was in a production of Tennessee Williams play "The Milktrain Doesn't Stop Here Anymore" and the actress playing the lead who's body he would be guarding was named Marcella Markham....(Parenthetically here: Marcella and Frank were divorced and Marcella moved to England, re-married and began having a 'real' acting career again, their in the UK which is where she was when this incident happened....this was now in the late 60's and early 70's.....and just fyi: I wrote an original score to this same T. Wiiliams play for a production here in Los Angeles in the mid 60's....)
In the article Bill Nighy talks about the first day of rehearsal of this play and I quote: "My process, which hasn't changed was to create a hostile parallel universe in which I was about to get fired. She, (Marcella that is) looked at me a long time and in an act of tremendous kindness, which I have never forgotten, she said; 'Where did you find him? This kid is fabulous'....." And that was truly the beginning of his serious career as an actor. After reading this article I found another quote from him about this incident with Marcella, which was more extensive and actually covered this same story in a much more complete way....:
"The leading lady was the beautiful and glamorous American Actress, Marcella Markham....She came in, in a big coat and huge shades and sat while I spoke the lines for the first time in rehearsal. I was very nervous and my breath was short, so I had a little difficulty delivering them. I couldn't move, either, it turned out, which was disappointing because I had a gestrure planned: I was going to point. I finished, and, rather than replying, Marcella continued to stare at me from behind her big dark glasses for what seemed like an eternity, during which time I invented a hostile parrallel universe where I waited to be punished. This has since become traditional in my work, It's as near as I come to a process. She then turned to the director, Nicholas Kent, and asked: "Where did you find this boy?" But rather than going on to say 'And why are you wasting my time?' as I was expecting, she turned back to me and said, "He's sensational." Trust me, I wasn't - and no one else in the room was that way mistaken - but she'd watched me suffering and was moved to a great kindness. I was humbled by it and built a cave of love around her from that moment on."
Well, I loved reading this story for so very many reasons....first of all, one rarely if ever hears of Marcella any more----she died of breast cancer a number of years ago I'm sorry to say---and to read this truly great story from an actor that I admire so very very much is delicious, plus third and most important,
it reminds me how encouraging and supportive Marcella Markham was...and that she continued to be so is not really a surprise but more of an affirmation about this woman that I knew to be a very generous and loving spirit. I know that knowing Marcella when I did changed my life in a big way....she couldn't have been more supportive of me as 'an artist' and also as a woman....And maybe more importantly I saw that a woman could have a career in show business and a life, too, an important thing to learn at not quite 23 years old in the early 1950's---and a very very young 23, a that.....I loved Marcella a lot and I was 'in love' with her dear brother---and he was one of the men that I dreamed of having a baby with....Remember, I was a very young 23 going on 12! This picture above and to the left is from that Original Broadway production of "The Iceman Cometh"....
and this one to the right is also from that production....and in this photograph, Marcella is second from the left
as you look at the photograph....I wish I had some other pictures of her and of her brother Bob, too...and somewhere I do have a picture of him but I couldn't find it....I promise that if and when I find it I will post it....And somewhere I have a picture of Buster Newman, as well....(A lifetime of photographs that need to be scanned into my computer...it will take forever, I swear.....)
Having my memory jogged about Marcella was a wonderful thing because it took me back to a time when I was truly naive and rather innocent about show business and when I had my whole life ahead of me with everything to look forward to and, most importantly, when I was surrounded by incredibly supportive and encouraging people who were happy to help me along my way....
One other interesting fact about Marcella: She wrote a little book that was first published in 1978....it is called "OLD is...GREAT!" It is truly a "little" book---6" X 4 1/2". It was a collaboration with a wonderful illutrator named Dominic Poelsma, who took Marcella as his Muse....
It's a charming little book that has one sentence on each page with a drawing illustrating the text...for instance: 'Old is...when candlelit tables are no longer romantic because you can't read the menu'...and the drawing shows you just that...and one other example...'Old is...when you can tell the truth openly because no one would believe it anyway'....
It's not a deep book, but it is very amusing and the drawings are delightful...Marcella always had a great sense of humor and especially about herself....She was a truly wonderful friend to me and it was lovely to read what Bill Nighy said about her all these many many years later.....More To Come.....
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| posted by OldOldLady Of The Hills at 3:10 AM
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
thanksgiving
The oldest tradition for me that is connected to our Thanksgivings is the Chocolate Turkey...! As a young child, we always had these wonderful special Chocolate Turkeys from Schrafft's....one at each place at the table....you actually had your very own individual Chocolate Turkey that you didn't have to share with anyone. And being that we were an entire family of Chocaholic's---this was delibrate and this was fantastic! Shrafft's was a very special place to all of us, (besides having great great candy...) because we spent many Saturdays there having our favorite lunch....Creamed Chicken on Toast....(Oh my Lordy, that was good, and for dessert, a Hot Fudge Sundae.....). This would be before going to a Matinee on Broadway or a Concert at Carnegie Hall, or going to Radio City Music Hall for a movie and 'the stage show' with those fabulous Rockette's. All of these delights were in abundance in New York City....And the Schrafft's Restaurants were all over the city....at your fingertips, so to speak. And if we didn't go to Schrafft's because there wasn't time, we would go to The Automat.....Horn & Hardet's Automat...A really special place too, where you could get a fresh Chicken Pot Pie by putting in three Nickels and this little glass door would open and the Pie would pop out...freshly baked and piping hot! Ahhhhh, such memories....(Another post for another time....)
But I digress....
The Chocolate Turkey's above are what I always get now, since living on Los Angeles I mean....They are from See's Candy...and they are delightful and really yummy, too! The one's from my childhood from Scrafft's were a little bigger and they were covered in see thru celophane with an orange bow tied around the outside to keep the celophane closed and the chocolate fresh---very pretty presentayion! So, just for the fun of it I did a little research on Chocolate Turkeys and here are a few that I found....
This one above is from a place called The Chocolate Experience, and specifically, The Chocolate Turkey Farm....It is solid...yes, solid chocolate, through and through and you can specify if you want Milk, Dark or White Chocolate...and it is available in three sizes....and the one above is the second biggest Chocolate Turkey I have ever found.....6 X 8 X 4....Now, that is a wonderful pig-out size wouldn't you say?This one below with the 'Red Head' is the biggest one I found to date (8 1/2 X 6 1/2 X 4 1/2) ....but, it is not solid through and through. And I must say, I'm not sure I would like that red turkey head...(red dye #9 anyone.....?) Hmmmmm....No, I don't think so.....
It's from a place called Martine's Chocolate Creations.....
Then, next we have this BEAUTIFUL one that looks not unlike the See's Candy one at the top....
This is from Canipes Candy Kitchen....
And one more that looked really darling...and reminded me of The Schrafft's Chocolate Turkeys that we use to get more than any other that I found....at least the look of those Schrafft's turkey because of the celophane I think---though these are rather small....
They are from a place called Plum Party.....they are 1.5 ounces of chocolate.....Next year I will have to start searching earlier and send for some of these that I've never tried before.....that 2nd biggest turkey has my vote at the moment....And now that we are all in a diabetic coma from all this chocolate...let's just take a look at a few other things that might be found on your Thanksgiving table this year.....
I'll have a Crosissant, please, and do pass the butter....
Yum! Croissants are one of my most favorite things to eat....warmed in the oven and with a bit of butter....not that they need any butter.....but....it's Thanksgiving!And then we must have this next dish....
Yes, yes, yes....A Caesar Salad, please....well, why not....Thanksgiving is supposed to be a rich meal with lots of delicious things to eat...so who cares that there will be three kinds of bread, including the stuffing, as part of the meal....right? It's only once a year my dears! And then....we must have some mashed potatoes and a Sweet Potato Casserole and Cranberries....right?
What would Thanksgiving be without these lucious delightful dishes....and of course, there could be some other little side dishes, too...Olives---Black and Green....Celery Sticks, Radishes, Brocolli Florettes, and other little veggies that can be eaten cold.....plus, String Beans Almondine or some other green vegetable to go with the main meal....
Oh yes....one other very important componant to this Thanksgiving dinner...the traditional beautiful materfully cooked.....Thanksgiving Turkey!
And to finish off this delicious meal, we have our final course....(besides the chocolate turkeys that is.....)
Two kinds of pie.....Pecan and Pumpkin....!
And then....having eaten too much though pleasantly stuffed, we have a bit of coffee and then take a little stroll, pretending we are walking off this scrumptious dinner.....then, come back and lie down for a little nap, and wake up and decide we are ready for a little bit of a snack....
Yes, the perfect finish to a grand day of eating.....!
Chocolate! More of that Chocolate Turkey that is the true reminder for me of what a lovely day Thanksgiving can be....it always was when I was a little girl and it still is....And the Chocolate Turkey more than anything else reminds me to give thanks for all the good things in my life and among those good things, are all of you, my dear blog buddies....I wish each and every one of you who celebrates this wonderful holiday the Happiest of Thanksgivings.....Enjoy, Enjoy...and "don't eat too much".....! Oh, what the hell...eat as much as you want....you can start your diet, tomorrow....I mean the day after Thanksgiving, of course! (lol)
More To Come.....
Note: Today, Wednesday, November 22 is the anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assasination....Hard to believe it was 43 years ago....anyone who lived through it remembers very clearly where they were on that day....it was a Friday....Last year I wrote about that fateful day in detail. If you want to read my rememberances, plesse go to the archives which you will find over in the sidebar....
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| posted by OldOldLady Of The Hills at 3:48 AM
Monday, November 20, 2006
golden barrel's and....
The Golden Barrel is a magnificent plant....it has great majesty and to me, it gives off a sense of great peace....these lovelies above, line the front bed next to the sidewalk, in front of the wall that surrounds my Patio. Here below is another view looking the other way....
It does appear they have grown some from this picture to the one above...I put these in when they were really really small----they came in a "six pack"....and I not only thought they would look wonderful as they grew, but that the neighborhood dogs would not be inclined to use them as a pooping place....those sharp protective things can really make you 'smart'!
I mean, think about sqautting over this and suddenly.....well, you get the picture! This would not feel very good at all, believe me....! Those are very very very sharp thingy's. And if your tush landed on one of these---let alone ten of these...the pain would be excrutiating and you would not come near these again anytime soon, believe me...and may I add, the dogs definitely stay away from these plants so....
I have to say, they have fulfilled their purpose and more! Not only do the neighborhood dogs avoid them...but these barrel's happen to look perfectly beautiful, which was what I wanted, all along....In the bed on the other side of the garage is probably the biggest Golden Barrel that I have in the entire garden...(There are quite a few down below, too)....
Doesn't this have a majestic peaceful feel? Beautiful...these plants are truly truly exquisite.....
It is difficult to appreciate the size of this particular plant because of the perspective in this particular photo above....The thing is, these are incredibly s-l-o-w growing plants....the one's in that other bed are not even close to the size of this one....I mean they are probably one quarter the size of this one and they have been in my garden for a good 19 years!
And here below, one more view of this humongous Golden Barrel from a slightly different perspective....I tried to get down on the ground more to take this next picture.....
I love the light in this picture above, too...And the plant in front of that Golden Barrell....it is a magnificent person, too....It flowers every year and the blossoms are a beautiful rich glowing yellow...
But before the flowers actually become flowers...they are these gorgeous little fuzz balls all in a cluster....
And that white stuff forms as some kind of protective thing...it is powdery but dense and adheres to the plant right there along each edge....
And here below is the whole plant as it looked in September, after the flowering was all done and some new little babies had appeared to add to this already beautifully clustered plant...
And here below is a photo of the same plant taken quite a few years ago...
You can see how much it has grown if you look at both pictures closely....I cannot remember how many years ago this picture was taken but it was with my no-think Fuji analog camera...so it had to be at least 5 years, and frankly I think it was more like 10.....
And here is a picture of one particular section of the plant and you can see a 'new' baby growing...
And then...the close up of this sweet new person....
I never tire of this amazing process and the results of each years flowering and growth....I guess you could say I am 'in love' with these plants...it's a whole world unto itself and my experience is that most people who have Cactus Gardens are utterly passionate about all the plants and their sculptural nature and the fact that they are 'works of art' to each and every one of us. We are all so completely addicted to this special world....and happily so....!
Oh Yes....More To Come.....
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| posted by OldOldLady Of The Hills at 1:25 AM
Saturday, November 18, 2006
things I have never done - a meme
The wonderful Melli made a comment on one of my recent posts asking me if there was anything I had not ever done....and would it even fill one Thursday Thirteen....? Then the wonderful Craziequeen, across the pond commented on Melli's comment (lol), and said she thought that this "things I have never done" list would make a very interesting post....So, I have been thinking about that and decided to give this one a try....! So, here it is....:
1) I have never married.
2) I have never had any children.
3) I have never had an abortion.
4) I have never climbed the Materhorn or been to the Alps.
5) I have never been to Italy or Spain or Israel...among many other country's....that could add up to 100 right there...
6) I've never been to Michigan or Montana or Missouri....
7) As I said to Melli---I've never murdered anyone.
8) I've never sipped a Martini, or a Manhatten or a Cosmpolitan...
9) I've never done Heroin....(Thank God!)
10) I've never worn a bikini---so there Kirstie...
11) I've never eaten a Frogs leg, or Venison....
12) I've never been to The Bahamas or Panama or Japan or China
13) I've never been to Tahiti. either...(but I did meet Marlon Brando).....Note To Self: Blog About Brando....
14) I've never met Barbara Streisand or Judy Garland or Frank Sinatra or Steve McQueen or Greer Garson or Tony Curtis or....well, that could fill up 100 Thursday Thirteen's....
15) I've never been to a Nascar Race or any other kind of Car Racing Event...
16) I've never been to The Kentucky Derby or The Preakness or The Belmont Stakes---Whatever-It-Is-Called.....
17) I've never been to The Crystal Cathedral....
18) I've never been Skiing and don't ever intend to either....
19) I've never been to The White House.
20) I've never been to Greece.
21) I've never been to Turkey.
22) I've never eaten Eel.
23) I've never eaten a Very Hot Hot 5 Star Indian Dinner!
24) I've never visited Seattle, Washington.
25) I've never grown Marijuana...(but I know people who have...Note To Self: Don't blog about that, no matter what!
26) I've never seen a Moose or a Bison.....
27) I've never eaten Moose or Bison, either....
28) I've never been part of a "threesome". Note To Self: Don't even consider doing that now, please.....!
29) I've never had an affair with an Asian.
30) I've never cooked a Lobster or Clams or Crabs or Mussels.....
31) I've never dressed up like a "clown".
32) I've never made Creme Brule.
33) I've never eaten Pigs Feet.
34) I've never seen a Llama
35) I've never played Golf.
Well, that's probably 50 or more things right there that I have "never" done, dear Melli....and I assure you....I could probably think of another 50, easy....!
Hey, how about some of you doing this one, too....?
Let's call it "The I Never Meme...."
And you are all tagged, if you wanna be.....!
More To Come.....(Maybe)......
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| posted by OldOldLady Of The Hills at 1:17 PM
Thursday, November 16, 2006
more happy flowers
This Orchid was from Christmas, 2005. Betty's dear cousin Carol Smith brought it to me on Christmas Day....Actually there were three Orchid Plants in a Beautiful Big Basket....I took this picture at the beginning of February, 2006....
You can only see two of the Orchid Plants in this photograph....but each of them had multiple blossoms and this arrangement was absolutely stunning! There is a huge Orchid Nursery where Carol got this fabulous basket....it's above Santa Barbara....and when ever she drives down here to Los Angeles from San Jose, she stops there and finds these gorgeous speciman's.....And here below, is another lush group of flowers taken from an arrangement that someone else sent me....
These came from two gentleman who have been coming to the S.T.A.G.E. Event for 20 years....I always take care of their tickets for them....They come up to Los Angeles from San Diego just for this Event and these flowers were their way of thanking me for looking out for them over these many years....And here below, another lovely Rose....I feel like I can almost smell this flower as I look at it....
Do click on all these pictures because they look so much better bigger....at least I think they do. The pink in this rose is so rich and the color has a such depth that feels utterly edible. Yum, indeed!And below is a glorious group of gorgeous roses...this too is so rich in every respect that it is wonderfully satisfying to look at in some unexplainable way....
You know what I mean? Oh yum yum yum! I think if I did not have a Cactus Garden, I would have a Rose Garden....but, truly, there is not a good place here on my property where a Rose Garden could survive....Well, I just hope people keep sending me flowers that have an abundance of all kinds of roses in every color imagineable....!On on that happy note...here is one more delightfully beautiful Rose surrounded by other beautiful colorful flowers....
And below, one more very pretty little Orchid. A gift to me on my Birthday at the end of June from a very dear dear man....
This is a little Orchid....smaller than any of the others that I have had or still have....Talk about your lucious colors...my my my....just stunning and perfect in every way...! Once again, nature takes my breath away....
More To Come.....
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| posted by OldOldLady Of The Hills at 1:50 PM
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
mlk - a great day
November 13th was a truly historic day in this wonderful country of ours...! It was the ground breaking ceremony of the Martin Luther King Memorial on the Mall in Washington D.C. A 'first' in so very many ways....not the least of which is that this will be the first Memorial on the Mall honoring an African American. We've come a long long way...we truly have....and think about this: Remember that other historic day in August of 1963 when Dr. King made his "I have a dream..." speech and the steps that he stood on that very moving and historic day, will be visible from this Memorial when it is finished, Thank God for C-Span because I got to watch the whole ceremony last night...and it was deeply deeply moving. I think the most moving thing to me was to see the people who are still alive who were close to Dr. King and in the case of Jesse Jackson and Andrew (Andy) Young who were there by his side all through those years of the Civil Rights Non-Violent movement...including, being by his side when he was gunned down in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4th, 1968.
To see these two men in particular, now, 38 years later, speaking from their hearts and being so moved themselves by this incredible moment in our history----the ground being turned over for this amazing well deserved and long overdue Memorial----that was deeply moving to me....I loved that they had so very many people with shovels ready and waiting to help turn that sacred ground over----there must have been 25 or more, I'm not sure----but they were prepared to turn over that dirt all at the same time....and watching them actually do that was quite a touching picture....When one thinks of the sacrifices made for 'the cause' by so very many people, 'back in the day'---being in harms way over and over and over----the bravery it took to get up off one's porch on the outskirts of Montgomery to join the march already in progress from Selma to Montgomery....working people who might lose their jobs and even their lives in this endeavor----the bravery of Dr. King and all those who walked with him, knowing they were truly risking life and limb every time they stepped up to the plate like this----all these people who's grandparents were slaves----the courage this took....Awesome.
So very many people were hurt---maimed and killed in this long long fight for "equal rights".....(there were so very ma nt they were and are too numerous to mention), attempting to get what the Bill Of Rights said was theirs by birthright. And as was said yesterday by any number of speakers on that podium 'there is still a long way to go'....Amen, Amen.But, what a triumpant beautiful day it was yesterday....the next step in the many many years of work by thousands of people culminating ten years ago when our then President, Bill Clinton, signed into law the 'idea' of this Memorial, the ground has now been broken. Two-thirds of the $100,000,000 that this fitting Memorial will cost has already been raised. And each and every one of us can contribute to this most histortic and wonderful momument if we are so inclined. Here is the link.
This Memorial is for all of us....it is about humanity and one's committment to 'the dream' of true equality for everyone in this country.....I am very very happy to have participated.
More To Come......
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| posted by OldOldLady Of The Hills at 9:06 PM
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Anniversaries
I have two very important anniversaries coming up....One is connected to the day I stopped smoking and the other is connected to something called "Primal Therapy"....And they are connected to each other as it happens, because I took my very last cigarette ever, the afternoon before the day that I started Primal Therapy....
My last cigarette was smoked on November 12th, 1970, after smoking for 24 years. And this is pretty much how my ashtrays looked by the time I stopped. As many of you may remember I wrote a whole post about smoking some time ago....(I may just post that again though it is available for all to read over there on the sidebar....) Now, about Primal Therapy....
I began Primal Therapy on November 13th, 1970....and that began my very first day of 36 years of being 'smoke-free'.
In other words I became a non-smoker that very day, never to smoke again! So, when the powers that be at The Primal Institute called me to tell me there was suddenly an opening in their schedule because someone had dropped out, I was smoking a cigarette. The woman who called me happened to be a friend that was a patient at The Institute but had also been---before Primal Therapy---a very fine actress and and singer...but at that time of this phone call to me she was working in the office at The Institute. "Can you begin the Therapy tomorrow?" What this meant was going into a motel that night....giving up all the things that could possibly take your 'pain' away---Smoking, Food, Sex, Pills, Recreational Drugs, Work, Alcohol, etc....Also, if you decided to do this three-week-intensive you committed to staying in this motel for that three weeks and staying away from your home, your loved ones, your pets, etc...the idea was to just be with 'you'. No distractions. Nothing to take you away from your feelings and your pain....and then my friend said..."And remember, no smoking!"I thought...'well I'll just take one more puff....', the cigarette there between my fingers. And then, I thought, 'No. this is it.' And I took the cigarette and stubbed it out right then and there. It was the last cigarette I have smoked and today, November 13th begins the first day of my 37th year of being a Non-Smoker.
Primal Therapy was a fantastic experience and still is.
I was at the Institute for almost two years but have continued to 'primal' or have my "feelings" in this very deep deep way to this day. As many of you may know, I have a sound proof padded room underneath my house for this very purpose. No one can hear me and that works out great because sometimes the sounds of the sobbing and screams eminating from 'the Room' sound like I am being murdered or I am murdering someone else....it is this wonderfully safe safe place where I can go whenever I need to, to get back to the origins of my pain and release as much as I can for that time....no, it doesn't ever go away completely...yet, it so often rules ones life...This 'dumping' is a difficult and painful process sometimes but it is wonderful and as I have said many many times...it has truly saved my life----no question about that....As the name of the therapy indicates this pain can go back to one's conception and before...yes, before.
In my case I was able to go back to the memories coded in the entity that is me, as a sperm and as an egg. I know that will sound impossible to many...but, believe me, it is not only possible but given the right 'safe' conditions...it is probable.Years after re-living aspects of these things many many many times---too numerous to count, I wrote a one act play that I called "The Start Of The Blues". It was about the journey of the little young sperm and the old old tired egg that met and became me.
It was done in an evening of One Acts at Theatre West called "Lifetimes 10", each play covering some aspect of time in one's life....there were ten writers and ten plays. "The Start Of The Blues" was the last of the ten and came at the end of the evening, which had an irony too it not lost on me....the wonderfully talented actress Ann Guilbert (aka Ann Morgan Guolbert of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" fame....) played the 'egg', amd an extremely talented young actor/writer named Mark Masi played 'the sperm'. It was, believe it or not, very very funny, and Annie Guilbert won an acting Award for her role in this little piece of mine!To make 'art' out of one's pain is a terrific pay-off! I mean, truly fabulous! I couldn't have done that in those first years...I had to get through a lot of it before I could then take the experience and turn it into something which touched other people as well. That, I think is what 'art' really is all about.
So...November 12th and 13th, 1970 are two very important days in my life....the course of my life truly changed with those two days, one happening right after the other. And because of the 2nd thing that took place, the first thing could happen. And by stopping smoking and starting Primal Therapy I now had a place for all the pain I was smoking down for all those many years....
I am deeply deeply grateful for that....I am also grateful that The Primal Institute was right here in Los Angeles which meant I did not have to relocate as many many people did from all over this country and in fact, the world. Arthur Janov wrote the book that sparked this avalanche of people coming here for the holy grail, including John Lennon & Yoko Ono who had been there at The Institute earlier in 1970....All of those songs that he wrote during their time in Primal Therapy were written right here in L. A.....Turning pain into 'art'----what a gift.
One of the great great songs on this CD is called "Mommy". And the lyric that got to everyone in Primal Therapy at that time and I'm sure ever since was...."I wanted you but you didn't want me...."You can't get more "primal" than that.....!
So, I wish myself a Very Happy Anniversary....these two 'dates' turned out to be two of the most important in my life.....
More To Come.....
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| posted by OldOldLady Of The Hills at 2:16 PM
Saturday, November 11, 2006
veterans day
Today is Veterans Day. Hundreds of Thousands of Men and Women have fought for this country and that means they fought for us, you and me. They fought for us and they died for us and they were wounded and maimed for us, sometimes in ways we can never really understand or in ways one cannot see, even with the naked eye....I for one am deeply deeply grateful to each and everyone of them and I say, "Thank You From The Bottom Of My Heart"!We honor each and everyone of them today and every day that we all of us can breath "free" in this country....
Here below is a stunning image, my dear dears. Our President, known now as "The War President".....
Every little image that has been included in this 'whole', are pictures of the men and women who fought and died in the current Iraq War. The end result of the artistry of putting these pictures together in this precise way is incredibly powerful.... And we owe a great great thanks to the creator of this 'hits-you-in-the-solar-plexis' piece of Art, Remember all our Veterans today from ALL the Wars that this country has fought so that we may continue to have the freedoms that we hold so dear, not the least of which we just excercised a few days ago....our right to vote.....
Bless All The Veterans And Bless All Those That Are Still Fighting Each And Every Day.....
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| posted by OldOldLady Of The Hills at 2:05 AM
Thursday, November 09, 2006
happy flowers
Isn't this a group of happy looking flowers? They sure look 'happy' to me....I've been poring over a lot of my floral pictures...having such a good time looking at all the lucious beautiful images....in some ways they are almost like food....I look at this picture above and it looks good enough to eat to me.....yum!
Now this beauty above looks like it could be Orange Sherbet in the shape of a rose....I mean....we are talking yum yum, don't you think? Roses are so lush and beautiful, no matter what color they are....I'm just crazy about roses and always have been. Dear Larry Parks, Betty G.'s husband had the most beautiful rose garden, with the most gorgeous variety of roses in it....he was a sensational gardener, by the way, as well as being a fantastic friend....One year I bet I took 500 pictures of roses...all of them slides. One day when I have the proper equiptment to download these truly special pictures you will get to see some of them. Meanwhile, here is another special lovely flower.....
This flower above is so soft looking and delicate. I don't know what it is but it sure is pretty....! I love the way the pink fades into cream....gorgeous!
And here is another very very happy flower....this is one blossom from an Orchid that blooomed for the second time, a year after I got it...
My Lordy that is beautiful and lush, lush, lush....Nature continually astounds me....I'm planning on putting together a calender to give as a gift to many people this year at "Holiday" time....and this image above will be part of that group of pictures....Here is another beauty....more lushness. This was part of an arrangement that had so many beautiful goodies in it...I had a wondereful time taking pictures of it....
It looks better bigger, so do click on it to get the full impact....these are just a small sampling of so very many beautiful flowers that I was able to capture with my little digital camera...And here below is one more of these flower pictures from this lush arrangement....
I will post more, very very soon...For now...I hope you all have a lovely Thursday and Friday.....
More To Come.....
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| posted by OldOldLady Of The Hills at 1:42 AM
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
truman capote
Many moons ago...like maybe 38 years (give or take a few months here and there), my father and his fourth and last wife, Olga, had a little house in La Quinta, Ca. a desert area that is near Palm Springs. La Quinta had been a kind of retreat for many many people who loved the desert but wanted to be outside of Palm Springs, in a quieter more secluded atmosphere....See, there is Palm Springs, then Cathedral City, then Palm Desert and then, La Quinta....as the crow flies.Back in 1962...before they were married, Daddy Joe and Olga had come to Los Angeles to visit and then went down to La Quinta where they stayed at the only Hotel that was there at that time...the La Quinta Hotel...a famous and very beautiful one-story hotel built I believe in the 1920's....They loved the area. After they were married they decided somewhere along the way that they would find a little house to buy, and then they would spend the winter months there...Connecticut and New York being too cold for DJ.
But, that first time that they traveled to La Quinta they told other guests---people that they met at the hotel---that Olga was his daughter (don't ask)...Daddy was a very old fashioned man and didn't feel comfortable about meeting people while traveling with a woman who was not his wife, so it was easier to say she was his daughter. (In fact he married his third wife for that very reason….he was traveling to France and was going to meet some “important people”…that was really funny because practically every ‘important’ man that he might meet in Franc had a mistress and wouldn’t have thought anything about it….) So, they had rented one of the 2 Bedroom cottages that the La Quinta Hotel had available to carry out this father-daughter deception....
I'm not going to go into this part of the story right now...maybe at another time....except to say that they gave up the "daughter" deception when suddenly one of his "real" daughters, me, refused to go along with this scenerio because I lived here in L.A. and I really did not want to attempt to carry on that lie with people who I would undoubtedly most likely might see again.....this problem was therefore resolved.
So eventually, some years later, they found a brand new little house that was near the La Quinta Hotel, and DJ bought it and the two lots on either side of it to insure privacy and to insure that nobody could build too close, because he did not want any neighbors that might be noisy….This particular area was very very new at the time and in fact there weren’t that many houses that had been built yet….(Now, of course, all these years later I am assuming it is completely filled up….I doubt there would be any lots to buy.)
It really was a wonderful little house….two bedrooms, a large living-room-kitchen-dining area all in one sort of, a lovely small pool, and that was it....and it was surrounded by the beauty of the gorgeous montains that one sees everywhere in the desert. A perfect desert getaway house…easy to take care of and easy to close up and leave when they were ready to go back east after the winter months were over….Daddy used the second bedroom as an office and that is where guests like myself would stay when visiting overnight or for the weekend or longer.They always had a very active social life wherever they went….Daddy being an interesting man and interested in many many things, too…So, often they would have made ‘dates’ with people and I was included in whatever these 'dates' were during those times when I would drive down to spend a few days with them.
And it was always very interesting for me, especially interesting if they had a connection to show business or the art world…It might be a party or a gathering at some place, like The Palm Springs Museum, or perhaps a small dinner party at someone's home or a luncheon.It was one of those times that I was there for a few days that Daddy & Olga had been invited to lunch at Truman Capote’s home in Palm Springs. I was excited about that because of course I admired him tremendously as a writer. I had read the book ”In Cold Blood”, and had seen the film of course, too....and I thought that the book was a masterpiece of writing.
I was not alone in that thinking by any means...this book took the literary world by storm and Capote made the cover of Time Magazine among others....You have to remember that at the time Capote wrote this book, no one had really ever written a book quite like it…that now seems very hard to believe because that type of book has been written hundreds of times since….but at the time he was the first and it was ‘new’ and it was stunning, and the quality of the writing was just superb, in every respect.I had also loved “Breakfast At Tiffany’s, which was 180 degrees away from
“In Cold Blood”….and also, I had loved the film of “Breakfast At Tiffany’s”, though Capote wasn’t that happy with it from what I had always read, But for audiences, it was a wonderful wonderful film---another treasured performance by Audrey Hepburn. So, this was a thrill for me to be included in this ‘lunch at Truman’s’….His desert retreat was in Palm Springs and though I don’t remember much about the house except it was lovely and comfortable and almost had a tropical feel like Florida because of the foliage surrounding it, particularly as you entered----there was, as I recall, a kind of outer front door that led to this walkway which then led to the actual front door of the house itself and that was the ‘tropical’ part. When we arrived, Capote’s House Man answered that outside door and we could hear music playing as we entered….it was the song “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head”, by Burt Bacharach….and as we passed the windows of the house in this tropical walkway there was Capote dancing and singing to this music that filled the house….This is an image I will probably never forget…he seemed so happy and enjoying himself as he danced around….unaware, it seemed, that people had arrived. We were the first to arrive, a family trait this being ‘on time’….(If you were invited for 12 o’clock, you arrived at 12 o’clock!) There was no such thing as being 'fashionably late' in my family....we were always early-to-on-time, and that is still the case with all of us to this day.I don’t remember a great deal about that lunch except that his then great great friend Slim Keith
was there and I believe there were a few other people too, but there were only eight or ten of us all together, as I recall. Capote was at the head of the table at one end, (I was seated next to him to his right) and he had put my father at the other end of the table, with Slim Keith to his right.…I remember thinking at the time about all the different people my father had met throughout his life, and wondered had there ever before been anyone in his life quite like Truman Capote. I don’t think so….But Daddy Joe seemed glad to be there and though I don’t think they saw each other much socially except for Palm Springs, DJ seemed very interested in Capote and seemed engaged by all the other people who were there as well.
In retrospect one cannot help wondering about all that happened in Truman Capote’s life as the years went on….The many people that he not only offended but in some cases, completely devastated when that first excerpt from “Answered Prayers” appeared in Esquire Magazine in 1975.
This was a book he had been writing and working on for years and years….the first book after “In Cold Blood”. In fact, the only book after “In Cold Blood” and the further fact is that this book was never finished, so therefor, it was never published.
The excerpts that appeared in Esquire pretty much rocked the New York Social World and all of the many people Capote had been close to like Slim Keith, felt completely betrayed and pretty much stabbed-in-the-back and all of those friendships ended very very badly. Capote was pretty much barred from any and all of those people’s lives and because of that his life became a very different one from the period of 'The Black and White Ball'. Others much closer to this situation have written in depth about this and there has been an incredible amount of speculation by just about every important literary person of that time as to why he would have written such an obvious and horrible indictment of people who were supposedly his dear friends. And this speculation ran to questions which included things like these: Was the writing of these chapters which were published the most self-destructive act ever ever??? Was Capote trying to prove how truly unworthy a person he really was…..Etc., Etc.....
And of course, I have no treal idea and anything I might say wouldn’t even have any validity at all. I do know that many of us saw Truman Capote's decline happen before our eyes on television, We watched as he deteriorated into a drunken and drug filled life appearing on different late night talk shows….often appearing as if he was in a kind of stupor….this was very sad to see….this very brilliant man who for whatever reason destroyed all the close caring relationships of his life in New York and then ultimately never finished this book. Some people have said that there never was 'a whole book'. But his great friend Joanne Carson believes the complete manuscript does exist and that it is in a Safe Deposit box somewhere. She believes this because she found a key that had no identifying marks on it to tell what bank it might belong to and surmised that Truman's manuscipt must be in that Safe Deposit Box. Certainly parts of it did exist, and those parts were the ones published in Esquire. But nothing else of that book ever appeared in print.I am very anxious to see this new film about Truman Capote….the one with Toby Jones and Sandra Bullock called “Infamous”.
From what I have read and heard it sounds like a not quite as cold evaluation of this very talented man as the previous film “Capote” was….it covers some slightly different material including some of the ‘swans’ he was so close to, like Slim Keith. That is what he called these women….
I try to remember more about that day at lunch and visualize the relationship as I saw it that afternoon between Capote and Slim Keith….truthfully I have no distinct memory of that except I know it was a good relationship…..warm and caring and obvious that they really really liked each other a lot. I think if it been anything else I would have remembered that. But I remember very clearly the particular rendition of “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head” that he was playing and dancing to as we arrived that day because it was THE Popular one of the day….And every time I hear that song to this day, the picture of Truman Capote dancing and singing around his home…seemingly very happy and content with his life and his lot at that time….comes to my mind….I see him in his colorful Hawaiian shirt, and wearing some kind of tropical loking casual summer hat. And I remember that that day, he was happy.
That’s what I remember all these years later.
More To Come.....
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| posted by OldOldLady Of The Hills at 1:05 AM
Sunday, November 05, 2006
more views
Here are some more views taken at different times from the deck of my home...looking East---at Downtown Los Angeles....This one above was taken on one of those clear crisp days where you can see everything....of course, there is always that look on the horizon as in the picture above, at least it doesn't look as treacherous as it sometimes does...,
Above, another shot on a different day with more pollution across the horizon and some beautiful cloud formations as well....And as you look up, the sky is blue and clear....
And a rather dramatic sky with those clouds that fortell a big storm is coming our way....and still, the overtones of pollution hang there on the horizon....And then, below....more "Drama" and more Pollution....and a rather mixed message where the possible rain is concerned....
And then here below, this picture was taken after the last big fires that took quite a few days to get under control and you can see the evidence of the smoke on the horizon...and this is what we were all breathing----and I know, because I can see it over there...and everyone over there can see the same stuff hanging in the air over where I am, too....
And another truly amazingly dramatic picture---still looking east towards downtown...
I truly love where I live so very much and one of the biggest reasons is the view that I have, looking East, and South, and West witnessing nature doing it's 'thing' in the middle of this amazing city....as I said in the last post...it is never ever boring....And returning to looking West from my deck....I took this picture tonight as the sun was beginning it's beautiful setting....once again, a sky that reminds you of how tiny you really are in comparison to a sunset....
This is so simple and beautiful and yet so complex in the second by second changes that occur as you continue to look at it and blink your eyes.....
More To Come......
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| posted by OldOldLady Of The Hills at 1:02 AM
Friday, November 03, 2006
1 year anniversary
I just realized that I have an Anniversary coming up. Yes, my one year of blogging will fall on November 3rd...Well, shut my mouth, that's TODAY! Hard to believe that a whole year has gone by since I began this blogging journey on "Here In The Hills"....Well, in actuality, for one month before, I had another blog called "The Hills Are Alive"...and that was like my bloggy shakedown cruise which got truncated when the hard drive on my computere crashed and died a horrible ugly could-not-be-recusitated-death. So, I then got a new computer and when I tried to go on to my dashboard I realized that I couldn't remember how to get onto the damned bloody thingy....thus....The beginning of "Here In The Hills"....
In honor of that start-up...or I should say re-start up, I am putting up my very first post on this blog....
Well, my second really....because my very first post was the announcement that my computer had died and the fear expressed that no one would be able to find me...it was short and sweet and to the point, but not particularly typical of anything I had written on my blog previously...so, this was the second post...And I hadn't quite conquered how to put pictures anywhere but on top, yet, as you will see when it starts down below! And isn't it amazing that one of the pictures I put on there, as you are about to see---is from that same Sunset series that I just posted in the post previous to this one....Things did improve, 'picture-wise' as I discovered the secret of moving pictures around and putting them where I want them---like I just did with that "computer horrors" picture just above and over to the left.....
But for now...here is the beginning of "Here In The Hills", one year ago, today---sort of....
COYOTE’S
Driving home from “Dr. Torture” (aka: The Back Doctor) last Saturday night—I was coming down the hill from Mulholland Drive, down Outpost Drive and then on to my street---It was somewhere around 8pm. And there in the street, as I rounded one of the familiar curves, were two Coyote’s—one was just crossing the road in front of me as my headlights caught him—using one of the ‘crossovers’ that the deer have used for many many years—and the other one was about to cross following his buddy/mate, when the headlights of my car--plus the sound of my car scared him back up the hill behind the late Michael Jeter’s house
Here in the Hollywood Hills where I live, at 8:05pm on a Saturday night—with Hollywood Blvd. just down the hill—here were these two coyote’s.
It never ceases to amaze me that I can live so very close to “civilization”; that Grauman’s Chinese—(excuse me, Mann’s Chinese Theatre, which is my neighborhood movie theatre) and yet—I see coyote’s and deer up here and always have, all the years I have lived up here.
Unfortunately these streets now have an incredible amount of traffic, for residential streets, I mean—someone is always renovating their home or rebuilding—or new homes are being built on the very few lots that are available at this point---(this area is extremely overbuilt now --and those houses that are being built, are being erected on the most impossible inclines you could possibly imagine)—and all this building brings workmen and their cars and trucks; huge dumpsters parked for months at a time on streets that are very curvy and windy and not exactly wide---making driving up here pretty daunting.
It is so very busy all week long from early morning till after dark that one forgets that this use to be a very quiet and generally sleepy neighborhood---and one has to be even more careful when driving all the blind curves up here with so many cars and trucks parked on the streets.
I actually had begun to think that all this activity and hustle and bustle and crowdedness had sent the coyotes and the deer further up into the hills—or that maybe, even---that most of them had died out with no place to roam.
It really did my heart and soul good to see these two healthy looking coyotes that night—and the day before, Friday,—the two plumbers that had come to my home to snake out the kitchen sink which had backed-up…(it’s been quite a week of problems here in the hills what with computer crashes and pipes breaking and kitchen sinks backing up--)…they saw two beautiful deer on the street, almost in front of my house…a hopeful sign, too, I would say.
As I continued on my way down my street towards my house that night—I thought: ‘It really is fall now, here in the hills of Hollywood, now that the coyotes and the deer are here’, and I was reminded of why I wanted to live up here in the first place. Nature is right outside my front door. Wild animals still do frequent my neighborhood even though Hollywood & Highland and The Kodak Theatre and The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel are almost a stones throw away.
It's a small thing maybe, but it really made me happy!
So....there it is....A year ago, I was writing about the cayote's that one sees up here on the hill. And because I am so deeply excessive, here below is a BIG HUGE Anniversary cake....please, help yourself and help me "celebrate"....because part of the great joy of blogging has been and still is, all the wonderful special people that I have met all over the world who enrich my life and share so very much with me, each and every day...365 glorious days, and still counting....!
In many ways, dear blog buddies, this blogging stuff has saved my life....being pretty much confined as I am...it has kept me connected to the world and people and my creativity in ways that I could not possibly have imagined when I began this internet journey....I thank you all for the love and encouragement and great good humor you have all shown me....I am deeply grateful to each and everyone of you and I send you big hugs and big big thanks on this special one year anniversary day.....More Will Definitely Be Coming Soon....To This Blog Near You.....
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| posted by OldOldLady Of The Hills at 1:22 AM
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
sunset views
I have been sorting and filing my pictures saved to the computer...tryimg to be more organized so that certain things are easier to access....I probably have 500 or more 'veiw' photographs taken from the deck of my house at various times of the year and covering lots of weather changes...the above and the following are a few of these pictures that I particularly like....
This one above was a particularly vibrant sunset...same approximate location as the first picture on top, but a totally different sky. This is facing west---with the Pacific ocean beyond---and those buildings that are barely visible are part of Century City....named because that land was part of the 20th Century Fox back-lot that was sold off when hard times began happening in the film industry....
And this one above----a fiery looking sunset, almost as if the sky itself was on fire---but in fact, nothing was on fire...this was just another incredible wonderful happening that makes each sunset of each day, special and amazing....People have said to me..."Oh you must be bored with your view at this point....". The answer to that? Never. You never get tired or bored or blase about what you can see each day, because as long as I have lived here, no two days have ever been alike....and the combination of nature and polution or just nature ny itself, often makes for astounding pictures...as you can see from this next photograph below....
And last---for today---- but not least, here below is real "drama" in the sky....
There will be more to come and soon, I promise....links to this post
| posted by OldOldLady Of The Hills at 1:19 AM
x4
