8th of March -- International Women's Day & Annie's Birthday

Ladies' Club Lunch, Palos Verdes Country Club, early '60s
TRI-PHOTO by TRIANGLE CAMERA, Redondo Beach, CA

Lots of rememberances on this day. The photo is of my mother-in-law lunching with her friends at the PVCC. She is sitting on the right, in the middle. I adored my mother-in-law who passed away 13 years ago. She was a homemaker, a seamstress, a golfer, and a bridge player among many other things, and was just wonderful to me.

   My dearest friend's birthday is also today. I met Annie in Junior High, when we were both fresh off the boat - I from former Yugoslavia, and she from Taiwan. It's been a long and strong friendship ever since. Happy Birthday dear Annie! Annie and Karl had their wedding reception at PVCC in 1985.

  As for Women's Day, when I was growing up in Yugoslavia, it was a day to honor women and mothers in our lives. I remember buying fresh bunches of violets and a pretty perfume bottle (all on my own) for my mom when I was 10, as well as small gifts for my favorite teachers.



After a breakfast meeting at PVCC events room (Jan 2012)

Welcoming Spring

East West Bank sponsored the Chinese Spring Festival at the PV Mall last weekend. The dancers were adorable and performed very well.

Landslide Viewing (Night Shots Monday)

Portion of Palos Verdes Peninsula slid into the ocean on November 21. A large section of Paseo del Mar in San Pedro is gone. ( LA Times blogs - Landslide San Pedro.)

I make a lousy news reporter. The area around the landslide has been fenced off for weeks once a sink-hole developed in the road. So, on the evening after the big slide, I could not get very close and then I only had a fixed 50mm lens on my camera. Here are some of the folks who came for the viewing along with me.

Join Monday Night Shot meme at Photo Roma blog.

USS Abraham Lincoln from Cabrillo Beach

The aircraft carrier docked at Port of Los Angeles for Navy Week.

Going DOWN!

Mulholland Drive Bridge over the 405 Freeway, 7-13-2011

The closure of the busiest stretch of the 405 freeway on the coming weekend for the demolition of this bridge is the talk of the town (and beyond). Check out all the funny Carmageddon videos on YouTube. I'm glad I was able to drive past it yesterday and snap the picture. I'll be sticking close to home this weekend, how about you?

From Google Maps

The Fair Came to Town

The annual Palos Verdes Peninsula Street Fair, Sunday Evening

Behind the Scenes at The Palace

The rear view of the Buckingham Palace, London, UK (Summer, 2007)

Going solo...

Our son after his first solo in a powered airplane, at Torrance Airport, Sunday, December 12.

The tall buildings of Los Angeles, some 20 miles away, and the San Gabriel Mountains are in the background. He had excellent weather for his solo - a very clear and warm day.

In Good Company

My son took the Karmann Ghia on the road yesterday, and he joined the display of classic cars at Brackett Field in La Verne, CA.

"Antique Aircraft/Classic Car Display Event at Brackett Field. Come to the free Fly-in & Antique Aircraft Display Day at La Verne’s Brackett Field (POC) on Sunday June 20th. Brackett Field Display Days are usually held on the 3rd Sunday. The airport is located 1 mi SW of the city. Numerous Antique and unique aircraft, classic cars and motorcycles are on display. There is a restaurant on site. Fly-ins from elsewhere are welcome and there is a historical aircraft sign off."

Southern California Soaring Academy offered sailplane rides on the DG-1000 - photos to follow...

It's time for ... Palos Verdes 23rd Annual Street Fair & Music Festival

Collage from 2009 Street Fair festivities.

Click on the PV Chamber of Commerce site for more info. The fair is located at Crossfield Dr. and Silver Spur, this Saturday from 10 till 10, and Sunday 10 till 9.

From the Met! - the next best thing to being there...

Can there be anyone as beautiful and hot as the Latvian mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča playing Bizet's Carmen? (Of course not...and it is a rhetorical question.)

My opera loving friend TJ, her opera buff friend & I went to the movies on Saturday to see the Metropolitan Opera (NY City) live (in HD) broadcast of Carmen. Marvellous experience all around including wearing jeans and muching on popcorn (with increasing fervor) as the opera progressed. There are 3 more broadcasts in the 2009/2010 season coming up...look for it in a theatre near you.

Pretty in Pink

Staff at City of Torrance's Turkey Trott 5K run/walk, held on Thanksgiving day.

Auction - Crystalaire Airport, Llano, CA

The estate of Fred Robinson, sailplane pilot, instructor and owner of the Great Western Soaring school at Crystalaire Airport (Llano, CA) was auctioned off, including 2 tow planes, a gas truck, and many sailplane parts and related items.

Transformer at Orange Co. Car Show by Guest Blogger Tricia Carr

A really great capture by Tricia! Check out her pups and kitty at HotDogHaiku

Will you be transforming for Halloween?

Conquer the (Vincent Thomas) Bridge - Labor Day 2009

Lori Lynn (San Pedro DP) tipped me off on the 5 mile run/walk over our local landmark, the Vincent Thomas Bridge. This was a rare opportunity to take photos of and from the bridge. I walked the up/down/up/down course in decent time (no, I was not the last one!), got lots of photos, including close ups of the bolted joints. In this photo, Palos Verdes peninsula is in the background and you can see my fellow walkers on the return trip.

Red Guitar of Boomer McLennan with Rhythm Ranger

Red Guitar and the Blues is a song by Boomer. See www.boomerm.com under Samples for a sample.

4th of July with Boomer McLennan

The local country music band of Boomer McLennan and the Rhythm Rangers were a big hit at the Ranch Palos Verdes 4th of July Celebration. Check out Boomer's "Arizona Sunsets" song under Samples in http://www.boomerm.com/. All the guys are excellent musicians.
Fireworks from above San Pedro - an abstract rendering (tripod needed!). (R to L) - My son, my friend L., her two daughters and son, with the Los Angeles Harbor lights in the background.

Pomp & Circumstance at UCSD

This is the last graduation for our family for this year with my nephew (coming onto the stage on the left) receiving his diploma in Math and Economics from the John Muir College at USCD.

Graduation at Ridgecrest Intermediate

Go Beach! - 2009 Graduates from Cal State Long Beach

Today, my niece (on the right in the 2nd photo) graduated cum laude with Bachelors of Science in Nursing today. Way to go, girl!