Truck 101

I'm going to have to snap a pic of the city's new fire truck. Here's a cut-and-paste from the City Manager's weekly report:

"This week marks the first week of service for Monrovia’s newest fire truck, Truck 101. If you haven’t seen it, please feel free to stop by the Fire Station No. 1 to catch a glimpse of this very effective piece of equipment. Not only does the truck feature a 100-foot aerial ladder and a full assortment of ground ladders, but it also provides all of the necessary cargo space to allow our personnel to carry the appropriate urban search and rescue and vehicle extrication equipment that they need. I should also point out that we have some awfully handy people in the Fire Department, and they have been able to fabricate and install much of the needed compartment pieces for the truck at a significant savings to the City. Again, come on in and take a look because it’s an impressive piece of equipment."

Dog boy, where are you?

If I didn't knew better, I'd say Monrovia has a fetish for this. There is another directly across the street in competition with this sign. So what's up with all the nail and hair salons in this town?

Ahhh, Virginia

Ok, so it's a tad fuzzy, but I like the glowy lights. And the quote is nice also. It's from my Monrovia Coffee Co. series of pics. Seemed an appropriate choice for today as I'm gearing up for dining well by planning a large dinner party. It's the first time I'm going to fit 14 at one table. Phew!

Aztec Hotel

A wonderful shot of the Aztec Hotel sign by Jerry Baker.

Monrovia Canyon

Here's a lovely shot of Monrovia Canyon taken by a fellow Monrovian. Click on the image to see more of his images.

Mmmn, coffee.

Little coffee soldiers, all in a row. Looks as if their arms are tucked behind them, waiter style, ready to pour.

Fuori Porta

I thought I'd share my love of a particular café in Florence, Fuori Porta, which means "outside the door." Quite literally, it was outside my door. It was just a few steps away from my apartment. It was, what I considered, the perfect café. Anytime of the day or night you could find something that was just right to satisfy your hunger. In the morning, they served coffee and cakes. Midday and through the evening they served red wine by the glass (five bottles were always open and on the counter), coffee, tea, and crostoni (toasted bread with toppings). For the equivalent of $5-7 you could get a meal and a glass of wine or coffee, and it was all good quality. The bread was freshly made, heavy white good for toasting, and the toppings were endless. They had a slicer behind the counter and had a variety of meats, cheeses and fresh vegetable spreads (artichoke, asparagus, etc) that took up probably ten pages of descriptions of their notebook menus.

Later in the evenings they had desserts in addition to their regular menu, and they stayed open until 2 a.m. The guys who worked there were not downtrodden automatons. They enjoyed the café and the great music that was everpresent (akin to having KCRW). The walls were covered in shelves of red wine and collaged with newspaper clippings. The place was full of life and if they didn't have a chair available they would somehow conjure up a plastic one from the back so you could sit down somwhere. It was small, with well-worn picnic-type tables inside and inexpensive round tables and chairs outside with a couple of umbrellas. It was unpretentious, fun, and authentic. It is what I miss most about Italy.

ANITA

I love this old pavement signage. There are a few on Myrtle. This one is at Myrtle and Lime in front of the new Planet Cookies. I think Anita used to be a shoe store. I love the type!

Two thumbs up for Ice Spice

I have to append my earlier comments about the new Ice Spice Indian restaurant. I went to dinner there last night and thoroughly enjoyed my meal. My friend and I ordered naan, Chicken Tika Masala, peas in tomato sauce and a cauliflower dish that the chef/waiter recommended. (My apologies for not including the names of the other two dishes, but I cannot find my take-out menu as a reference.) My friend knew to order homemade Indian tea and it was delicious. The ambiance is brighter and more spare than I usually like, but it was entertaining to watch the people in the back lobby of movie theater and they seemed to be amused watching us.

So pretty!

Oh, these little bottles are so nice in their fruity chilled huddle.

The Valentine's Lady in the Tea Shop

I am rather fond of her dress and would love to borrow it for a day of dress up!

... and her "boyfriend"

She, er, "he" is not fooling me for a minute! I walk past this tea shop on a regular basis but have yet to stop in. I happen to be allergic to dust (but do love old things), and perhaps this allergy fear has kept my curiousity at bay. I am going to pop in one of these days, though, as I'm quite in love with afternoon tea. I import mine and drink either PG Tips or Yorkshire Gold. It's quite delicious on a cool day with sugar and milk, and perhaps a cookie or two.

Wine and Cheese!

Oh, this pleases me immensely! I spotted this paper sign in the window of the vacated skateboard shop on Foothill next to Blockbuster. I do hope quite fervently that they will offer snacks and samples of their wares. If they would sell wine by the glass for nibblers that would be even better. One can only hope.

Box Jewelers

Oh, dear. The Box Jewelers signpost is such a very cute landmark on Myrtle Avenue, but the hideously neglected forever-for lease building on the opposite corner is just an eyesore. I don't know the whole story, but apparently the owner won't charge affordable rates to lease it, so it just sits there and rots. Can't say I like the putty salmon color scheme of the bank building, but at least it's clean.

Main Street, Disneyland, er ... Monrovia

I stumbled across the Tumbling Tumbleweeds barbershop quartet whilst out for a stroll this evening. My friend commented how it made Myrtle Ave. seem like Main Street, Disneyland. Hmmn. I wonder how the Old Town ambiance will eventually turn out after all the renovating is completed? (Of course, there isn't really an end point to such things as long as Monrovia has residents.) Despite my reluctance to embrace such a designation, these happy guys did make me smile, and had a very enthusiastic audience clapping quite heartily.

Monrovia Coffee Co.

Did you know that the Monrovia Coffee Co. on Myrtle has an open mic night on Saturdays? Can't say anybody else does either, as there was only one crooner, and I don't think he had a lot of practice up there, but he sure knew the lyrics to every 70s song I grew up with!

Krikorian at dusk

Even though I took a sharper photo of the Krikorian theater, when comparing them side by side, I liked this out-of-focus image better, as it has a dreamlike quality. Regardless, I love neon-clad movie theaters for the nostalgic feeling they give me.

Martini Bar at Caffé Opera

I couldn't resist taking a pic when I saw these three glasses. I do enjoy dining at the Caffé Opera, and the food has improved as of late. I have a fond recollection of a fabulous salad with candied pecans. The service is always terrific.

Foothill Blvd. with storm clouds

There's a storm a comin'

The wind is picking up; the clouds are darkening; a few drops have started falling. Batten down the hatches!

Duarte Geyser

This the third accidental geyser I have photographed, and the second with this camera. Since I've only had this camera since October, it feels like someone has it in for civic infrastructure recently.

Click through this picture to see some more shots of this unnatural wonder.

This one is at the corner of Huntington Drive and Santo Domingo Avenue in Duarte. This image is looking east, with a just-past-full moon just caught in frame.

That was a lot of water and it was quite noisy. I'm kneeling about 200 feet back with my 50mm lens wide open. A conservative estimate is that the column is over 60 feet tall.

We also parked to the West and walked back and found the poor victim hydrant laying on the sidewalk.

Wine Shoppe moved

I just noticed today that the Wine Shoppe on West Lime has moved (I think I spotted their new location on Primrose). The space is currently empty, but apparently a skincare company will be moving in. Rumor has it that dermatologists and estheticians will be teaming up to offer the latest treatments.

Found in translation

I'm not sure, but I think this restaurant might technically be in Arcadia. I snapped this from the window of my car. Couldn't resist!

Claiming the new chair

Although he hasn't gotten a formal mention on my blog, Moochee, also a member of our family, has claimed my new sleeper chair. This little Schnauzer, owned by my housemate, loves to lounge!

Sunlit Dandelion in February

Having grown up in Seattle where there are actually recognizable seasons, winter in Southern California still seems odd to me. Sure it did briefly get cold-ish and wet, (and it even rained on the Rose Parade for the first time in a long time) but the typically warm and dry January has seemed unreal to me ever since I moved here in the early 80's.

Plants don't seem to understand our seasons either. Examine, if you will, exhibit A pictured above. I never caught this fellow in bloom, but I did catch his seed head in a sunbeam the other day. A dandelion blooming in the dead of winter is just something I would never have seen in Seattle.

Here is a weed in all its glory, and for a moment at least, beautiful. This is also why I keep a camera around: I like to find little bits of surprising beauty in the world.

Meanwhile, my avocado is in full bloom and a lantana I thought had died popped up some brilliant white flowers to say "hello".

It still doesn't quite feel like winter, though.

Ray Bradbury on Monorails

Ol' Ray makes a pretty good argument in the L.A. Times for putting monorails in Los Angeles. Anything that will speed up the process of public transportation and do it for less money and with a quieter footprint gets kudos in my book. When is Los Angeles going to step up to the plate and start taking advantage of existing technology? Think of how much money it could bring into the city. I mean, Disneyland has had one since I was a kid and it's still popular.

Via Boing Boing

Cone kitty asking, "Why must I wear this?"

Just a few more days and he gets his stitches out and his cone off.

Monrovia Airport

The other day when I went to Michael's on Huntington Drive I spotted the tile mural on the front of Albertsons depicting the former Monrovia Airport. I looked it up on the web and found a website devoted to little known airports. According to the site, "A 1947 article in Flying Magazine described Monrovia Airport as having 'a 2,600' gravel runway, a snack bar, and 50 planes which are tied down for the fairly standard rate of $15.' As seen in the above photos, Monrovia Airport also had at least four hangars." I believe the Monrovia's airport ran from 1928 to 1953, and was known as "the Foothill Flying Field." Nice! The site of Monrovia Airport is bounded by Cypress Road on the north, Shamrock on the west, Sawpit Wash on the east, and Duarte Road on the south.

Another tidbit on the site, which I can't say is something be be proud of, is that the very first ever McDonald's restaurant that opened (anywhere) was on Huntington Drive. The year was 1937. Eeeeek!

Underpass City Logo

I'm thinking maybe a light blue stripe instead of dull salmon?

White stripes

I like this little abode. It's got a bit of style with its bold white stripes and cute little ramp. I like that it's got the scooter parked at the bottom of the ramp. I'm sure this person takes it right into Old Town for errands.

Tai Chi Sunday mornings

Today I met a Chinese man while sitting outside at Starbuck's. I had seen him there before, with three adorable Akita puppies, and so it was easy to open a discussion with him again. As it turns out, he teaches Tai Chi in Shamrock park on Sunday mornings at 8:30 a.m. I would love to do that but am NOT a morning person. I often go to bed at 3, 4, 5, a.m. and sometimes later. I asked him if he ever considered teaching in Library Park, but he said there were no convenient restrooms there, and so opted for Shamrock park instead. I have to say that I love seeing people doing Tai Chi in public parks. It is so pleasant to see, and relaxing to watch. When I was staying in San Francisco, I would see this kind of thing all the time. My vote, for when the city library is rennovated, that a public restroom will be put in. But then again, I saw some transients near Shamrock park recently. Do public restrooms encourage this? I wonder what a solution would be?

Wistful kitty

Poor Maji is one week post surgery and dying to go outside. He keeps trying to get past my feet when I open a door, but I'm always ready for him and have to gently block him from his intended passage. He's an indoor-outdoor kitty normally, but now he's housebound.

Togetherness...

For some reason these signs and things remind me of people waiting for the bus. As it happens a bus stop is a few feet over. They remind me of people that stand together, sort of uncomfortable, sort of together, in a fragile kind of moment.

Victorian Country Dance

What fun this should be, and Monrovia is the perfect place for an English Country Dance class. The Los Angeles Social Daunce Irregulars, a historical dance group that regularly hosts Victorian dances, will be hosting an English Country Dance class at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 1222 S. California Street in Monrovia. The class will begin on Friday, Feb. 24th, and will continue on the 2nd and 4th Fridays from 7:30 to 10 p.m. A $5 donation is suggested at the door. Wear comfy, casual clothes and soft shoes. No partner needed. Look for the class in the Guild Hall, to the right of the sanctuary entrance, or follow the noise to Swan Hall, with an entrance off the parking lot in the back. For further information, please email Marsden at mmacrae@earthlink.net, or call 310-391-3052.

Wing Stop Opening Soon

This place is near Von's Pavilions on Foothill. I'm not fond of wings, but in favor of eateries, in general. Anything that is not another hair salon is progress in my book.

Beggar's Castle

I have a certain affection for this humble little structure. Its only decoration is the merest suggestion of a crenolated top. It is perfectly square and has the bars of protection, necessary to prevent unwanted intruders. Being next to the Copper Lamp liquor store, I suppose it must hold their supply of grog.

Digging Dachsund

This happy guy was at the dog park, doing what Dachsunds were designed for, tunneling for burrowing beasties. We could have used him back when I was a kid. Our yard always had at least two gopher holes!

Picket porch

What a nice way to combine a picket fence and a porch railing. Another spectactular Monrovian home.

Monrovia Geyser

This is a picture I use to explain why I never leave home without the camera. I drove up to the stoplight just after the hydrant was knocked off, and pulled into the lot at Ernie's Auto Parts to snap this quick before the rest of the Fire Department arrived to take care of the problem. I can assure you that was the longest I've waited for a camera to boot ever, with the sirens getting louder by the second.

But who am I and what am I doing here?

My name is Ross, and I live in Monrovia.

I am flattered to be invited by Amanda to post here from time to time. She found me on Flickr, easily reached by clicking on the photo above or, it appears, nearly any other photo showing in this blog.

I'm happily married to Michelle, and we are the staff of a small home maintained for the benefit of three cats who do graciously permit us a place to sleep in exchange for a steady supply of food and attention.

I'm a trickster, charlatan, magician, geek, occasional photographer, cinemaphile, patron of the theatre, jack-of-all-trades, and consultant. And I thank you for inviting me into your space.

Myrtle Ave Shortcut

Another great shot from Doran. Myrtle has several of these little walk throughs to side streets and parking lots.

Attitude

This guy was spotted by Ross and apparently hangs out around his yard and on his roof on a regular basis. I can just imagine this furry critter making that little squirrely scolding noise everytime somone walks by!

Stick leg

That little wrapped stick leg is where Maji's pain reliever patch is. It always amazes me how skinny cats are underneath all that fur!

Yellow truck in front of orange house

If only it had been parked several feet back to be squarely in front of that house....ah well, it's still a striking vehicle!

Pet wash & bakery

A wacky place snapped by fellow Monrovian Ross Berteig. This place is on the border of Monrovia and Arcadia.

stargazer

A patch of sun

I'm always amazed when I see my Shiba sleeping in the sun. She's got a thick coat on her, but it must feel good! She found a spot in the driveway today.

Nice porch

I do love a house with a good porch.

Sushi gets a back scratch

Yesterday was Sushi's trial run at the dog park with her new (first time) muzzle. Her cute appearance just makes people want to pet her but, unfortunately, she cannot be trusted not to snap at them, hence this nose basket contraption. It allows her enough room to pant, lick her lips and drink from a water dish. She didn't do much running around for this jaunt, but seemed contented to be petted by a new friend. My poor critters, one in a basket the other in a cone!

H STORIC

Another fab photo from Doran. This building is on Lemon Avenue in Monrovia.

Planet Cookies

It looks as if Planet Cookies is now officially open. I will have to stroll over and get a sample.

Well done!

The trim work on this little beauty is superb. The paint colors enhance it also. I don't even mind the newer style front door, as it is painted to match. The picket fence is great, too, as are the matching spindles on the chair back. The roof materials are rather ordinary, but they got the color right. I'm just sorry there was a ladder on the porch for this shot.

Lavendar Lovely

Here's a cute little lavendar house I spotted the other day. It's an unusual color, but I think it works. There are so many of these gems around Old Town Monrovia. It's just wonderful when an owner sees fit to spruce them up. These homes are much nicer than the many cookie cutter faux-Mediterranian houses that you see in scattered around Los Angeles. If you like Victorian, Craftsman, Spanish or older Ranch-style homes, Monrovia is the place for you. It's also possible to get a Tudor style home, if you are lucky enough to find one.

Little alien head

Mr. Maji is handling his situation in style, as per the usual. Nothing can keep him from his royal cuteness!