Theme Day: Bakeries

I thought I was going to miss this theme day. I thought I didn't have any bakery shots, and I knew I didn't have time to go get one.

But wait! This is why I never throw anything away.

Two years ago, I took this photo of student chefs from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Pasadena as they worked to help create the cake for Pasadena's 124th birthday.

It was tempting to steal one of those sugar/frosting roses. It's not like the  chefs were paying any attention to me. I could have gotten away with it.

Here's the post I wrote about the experience. I posted more photos on Overdog. I've been neglecting poor Overdog. Ah, well.

City Daily Photo is now 1463 blogs strong. Bellis will be thrilled to know that the newest member of the fold is Cambridge, UK! Stop by and give a hearty welcome. Click here to visit the other theme day participants.

Fire Station 31

The Altadena Hiker called it an "excellent adventure" and it was. She, Bellis and I had long planned to visit Castle Green on Sunday for the annual Christmas open house. The closest parking lot was full and each of us had walked some distance to get there. But as the line snaked out into the street and another bus pulled up in front of that lovely old building, our enthusiasm dampened.

I hope they made a lot of money and had a great time, but shuffling through the halls shoulder to shoulder with a packed crowd wasn't what we had in mind.

So how did we end up at Fire Station 31 and what did we find there? The story and more photos are on Overdog. And don't miss the Hiker's take on the tale.

Balboa Island

Each summer, my friends rent a beach house on Balboa Island for a week's vacation. Last week was it, and they invited a few of us down for a day. We didn't hobnob with the rich, but we hobnobbed on their territory.

First we spent a couple of hours just steps from the house on the beach. It was a mostly female group--talk, laugh, much more talk. Then, after a lovely dinner on the front porch (almost as much laughing as eating), we took a boat ride around the island. That was a blast. I posted several photos on Overdog.

From the looks of it the richest people in Orange County have thrown their money into Balboa Island and the shores that surround it. The water's edge is cheek by jowl with new-money mansions and ostentatious yachts.

Ah, but it's still a beach town. What you can't see in this photo is the sea lions that have climbed up onto the back of that boat, lolling and barking--hobnobbing on the territory of the rich, as it were.

The Icing on the Cake

left to right: Berlin Mercado, Jeanne Nelson, Crystal Mazzarella, Tracy Latimer

Pasadena's having a birthday party (it's 124th) this Saturday, June 12th at the Pasadena Museum of History. Yesterday I had a chance to see the birthday cake in progress at the Pasadena west campus of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts.

Under the guidance of Chef Instructor (and the cake's designer) Alicia Boada, fourteen student pastry chefs are making a three-foot tall, six-tiered replica of the top of City Hall, complete with tiny tiles on a sugar dome, a sugar cupola and gorgeous sugar flowers. More photos on Overdog.

In a separate kitchen, these pastry chefs-in-training were working on the layers. Some layers will make up the base of the cake and some will be eaten at the (free, open to the public) birthday party on Saturday.

I took a series of shots of the student pastry chefs at work and they gave me a taste of the cake and frosting. There are two kinds of each. I should have written them down because they have fancy names and I've forgotten them but they are de-damn-licious and you have to go to the party Saturday and eat some.

I hadn't planned to use this photo. I asked the chefs to pose for a reference for the other shots, and I wrote down their names in the order in which they stood. But just look at them. I had just had a piece of cake with frosting. They had just seen and heard my ecstatic reaction. They'd been working hard for nearly two weeks. Can you see the pride on their faces?

Update 6/13/10: You can see more photos and the finished cake at Pasadena PIO.

Irresistible Threat

A few days ago, this was this.

As flames close in on the hills above JPL and Altadena, I eat the words I wrote on my Thursday Overdog post: "obviously not threatened."

I wasn't going to take photos of the Station fire last night but I had to go look at it. We've all seen photos and news footage of brush fires, but to see this element doing its thing, which is neither good nor evil but magnificently ignorant of human values, is to feel awe.

I'll be asleep when this post goes online at a minute after midnight. Fire changes in seconds. At this writing, the Pasadena Star-News is reporting that the main JPL campus is "shut down" and some Altadena neighborhoods are preparing to evacuate. That could change at any second, just as the fire does. While John and I watched, the flames would disappear for moments, then reappear, red against the hillside, as high as buildings.

One neighborhood that may have to evacuate is The Meadows. It's a beautiful, rural area in the hills above Altadena. Greg Stanton, a very cool real estate agent, lives in and blogs about The Meadows and has more photos of the fire. It's from his blog I found this link to updates on the Station Fire.
In this photo, taken yesterday at about noon, Altadena residents watch the flames from the corner of Lincoln Avenue and Altadena Drive, not far below The Meadows. Incidentally, it's the first publishable photo I've taken with my new Canon 20D. I purchased the camera from Ibarionex Perello, who is probably out getting amazing shots of the fire right now. I'll bet he can't resist. I'll bet he has to go look at it. (Oh! I just clicked on his blog. Sure enough.)

Update, 8:40 am:
Kathy Christie Hernandez, our blogger buddy in La Canada Flintridge, is (as usual) posting excellent, up-to-the-minute information.
And check out more photos and info:
Tim, at Altadenablog.
Laurie, at Glimpses of South Pasadena, and click on her link to her overage blog.
Karin, the Altadena Hiker went up to the fire line last night.
Ben, at the sky is big in pasadena

Go ahead and click on the San Gabriel Valley blog links on the left side of the page here. I wouldn't be surprised if you find more.