Weekend Dog

It was a little chilly this morning and once the sun came up, Seven found the one sliver of light to place his snout. Later we surveyed the garden and he looked suitably heroic in front of the newly planted Kangaroo Paw.

Theodore Payne Foundation

This morning WL and I rode out to the Glendale foothills to once again visit the nurseries of the non profit Theodore Payne Foundation. A few of our annuals did not survive the recent cold snap and we figured we'd replace these laggards with true California native plants. The place is very inviting and begs you to poke around the many areas. Each plant has a placard with all the facts you could ever require so reading is almost as time consuming as figuring out what species you desire. Another plant to attract butterflies? Or one the hummingbirds will adore.

Today we got a few pink Yarrow.


A brillant red Valentine Monkey Flower


And several Pacific Coast Hybrid Irises (Douglas Iris Hybrid)

Napa Style

We found a great store in Pasadena with a sale going on. We left with a "green" roasting pan..... Napa Style's sale brought us back the next day for more including these silvered glass lamps. We swapped out the modernist Ikea pendants for these beautiful overheads. The light is much more cinematic in the kitchen now. And amongst WL's purchases was a liquid soap bowl that hangs. Just tip it to get the flow going to hand or sponge.

Street Car Named Legion

I got up early yesterday morning and took the #38 bus up Geary St. to the Legion of Honor museum. They currently have an exhibit of Cartier jewels, including pieces from the Duchess of Windsor, Betty Hutton and Grace Kelly. The building itself is also significant as the backdrop for Jimmy Stewart's pursuit of Kim Novak in "Vertigo". The grounds are well manicured with a very nice view of that famous bridge.
On the way home I stopped on Maiden Lane and looked into a small gallery designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Seems folks in NYC were not liking his artistic ramp ideas so he created one in San Francisco to great effect and then went on to build the Guggeheim museum on NYC's museum mile.

It's de Lovely.... It's de Young

Yesterday we wound up a soggy week atop the observation tower of the de Young museum. The views of the surrounding area including the green roof of the aquarium were stunning. And they are rumored to have an excellent permanent collection.

Redwoods

We were filming in some redwood forests this morning. Of course like every other day this week, we were working in the rain. But the woods were amazing and the scope of the trees impressive.

Day One

This morning we started filming north of San Francisco on the flooded Russian River. Dodging some rain and getting a few patches of sun, we finished and moved to the coast and Dillon Beach near Bodega Bay. The rain was much fiercer and along with some high winds, we had to stop a few times and take shelter. The sea had washed up some massive man o wars. But the sun poked out at sunset for some spectacular shots. And then the downpours began again.

Porron

Last thursday, before going to MR’s Mongolian photo exhibit opening, Betsy and I stopped by fave East Village restaurant Macondo for a quick drink and some food. I noticed it was happy hour and asked the bartender what the specials were. A new menu of tasty tapas for us at an excellent price and an added bonus..... porrons filled with beer and Fresca for each tapas we ordered. Our Columbian bartender told us how to drink from the communal porron without your lips touching the vessel. And of course, the farther away you can get the stream going, the better. We both did well until Betsy had a moment of laughter and spit up the brew all over her front. Although this is the first time I’ve had Fresca and beer together, I feel it won’t be the last.......

Port Au Prince in Ruins

I saw the news last night that a devastating earthquake rocked Haiti. The epicenter just west in Carrefour. Carrefour is where the crew members lived that helped us on our commercial trips. From 2002 to 2004, I was privileged to make the trek to Haiti six times. We always stay in Petionville, which suffered the collapse of a hospital last night amongst many houses that fell into the ravines.
I am thinking alot today of Donald, Jimmy, Evenaud, Big Joe, Grandpa, Kiki and the rest... hoping that somehow everyone is alright.

Please check out the Doctors Without Borders site and give what you can.