Pie Night '12

Rules are rules. At Pie Night, which some people refer to (well, one person) as Pie Knight, you must have your traditional Dave Knight photo. What would I do if Dave didn't show up?

If you click on Dave Knight in the blog labels below, you will notice something uncanny. Over the time I've known Dave--the Pie Nights we've seen and the real estate adventures we've shared--he and his wife have had two children. And he's gotten younger. How does he do that? Secret potions? Poison apples? No. I think perhaps it's the pie.

The other photo you get to take at Pie Night, if you're lucky, is of Pie Night Hostess Susan Savitt Schwartz. (Co-hosts Michael, Natalie Rose and Molly must have been stationed at various other points in the house at the time, apparently having fun instead of posing for me.)

Pie Night is a Schwartz family tradition. This year everyone came on time and the place was packed. There were a few more savory pies, which is great because after all that sugar you need some balance.

Or not. It's all pie, after all.

Pie Night '10

Pie Night was so crowded this year I couldn't get near the table to take a photo of the pies. Sure enough, as soon as I stepped outside to shoot through the window the crowd cleared. I wasn't getting much of a shot so I thought I'd go back in, then cherub here stepped up and made it into something for me. Judging from my posts, last night was my third Pie Night (and my second cherub).

Pie Night began eight years ago in Altadena when the Schwartzes decided to make good use of the pumpkins they'd grown in their garden. They whipped up some pies, invited a few neighbors and a tradition was born. Now a lot more people come, and because everyone brings a pie there are a lot more pies. The youngest Schwartz is proud to say they're the number one hit when you Google the words, "pie night."

Last night was balmy. The kids got hopped up on the sugar in the pies and ran a screaming game of tag in the dark. The adults got hopped up on sugar, too. I'll bet everyone slept well, for different reasons.

Zen Monday: #70

Zen Monday is the day you experience the photo and give us your thoughts rather than me telling you what the photo's about. I look for something worth thinking about or, failing that, at least something odd or silly. Sometimes you have to look closely.

As I post each new Zen Monday photo I'll add a label to last week's to identify it if necessary--if I know what it is.

Pie Night '09

I don't know who this cherub is, but last night she had a table full of rivals for the title of Sweetest Thing at Pie Night.

An annual Schwartz family tradition, my previous Pie Night post got so many fun comments that last night John and I were greeted as "the publicity department."

Pie night is sugar overload. The hosts make pies from the pumpkins they grow and everyone else brings a pie, too. (If we're lucky, a couple of savory pies appear on the table at some point.) There are always delicious people to meet, as well. Last year I met Dave Knight, and not only did he become the Pie Night photo for 2008, he took me on a real estate "caravan" in the spring.

It's just not Pie Night without Dave Knight in Bad Light.
Wait a minute. Who's that sneaking up behind Dave with a camera?

Pie Night

You don't know a sugar high until you know Pie Night.

John and I first lived together in a rented home in Altadena, where we got married in the back yard. We lived there, across the street from our friends the Schwartz family, for a year and a half before we bought our Van Nuys house and moved away. By the time we moved back to the Pasadena area two years later, Pie Night at the Schwartz home had become an annual fall event. It's casual. Just come--and bring a pie.

Last night it was cold and blustery outside. It's full-on autumn here. Just right for our third Pie Night.

The Schwartzes have been around here for about ten years. Michael's a frisbee artist and JPL scientist (oh I know, isn't everybody?) and Susan's the Executive Director of P.E.N, the Pasadena Education Network. Natalie Rose is a budding ballerina/actress and Molly's not sure about future plans yet, but she can swing from a tree on her rope swing about nineteen different ways.

The guy in the picture is named Dave. He was gonna get him some pie. I got me some, too, let me tell you. Several varieties. And homemade cre-->me brulee.

Took a while to come down.