Yesterday On Colorado Blvd.

photo by Terry Griest

Sometimes, if we're lucky, Terry Griest checks the blog when I've posted a photo taken in Old Town Pasadena. You may remember Terry: she did an in-depth study of our historic, once-scary (now up-scale) shopping district at the beginning of its dramatic upheaval/restoration. What she created is a rare treasure, and I'm so grateful when she shares it with us.

Compare today's photo to yesterday's.

Terry says:
"I didn't have much in my little 1984 report and no oldy-old photos, just this one from '84 when you could buy 'meat for home freezers,' and 'select your own' 'beef bundles' (yum) from the Beef Baron where you can now buy leather goods. Hmm.

"Here's the only info I have:

"...we come to 33-45 West Colorado, another Spanish Colonial relating well to others on the block. This facade is actually a 1929 [the year they widened Colorado] unification of several small structures built in 1895. Typical Spanish elements are the central arched entrance, red tile roof, and wrought iron grille work which was, until recently, covered by signs. Once the first Pasadena telephone company in 1901, Bennett and Haskell once again offered their own baroque version of the Spanish colonial style."

This is a lot of information! And now, thanks to Terry Griest, it's available on the web.

Helping

Today, we're making chicken soup.

(photo by John Sandel)

Zen Monday: #221

guest photographer: Ginab's friend Tom

Weehee! It's Monday! And a Zen Monday photo is just that: a Zen Monday photo. It is what it is. I mean, what is it? You tell us.

Be Afraid

Happy Halloween. Get scared but not too scared. Have fun. And if I come trick-or-treating at your house, please don't give me any candy. Just admire my costume and send me home.


(Scary guest photographer John Sandel says, "ooga-booga marriage.")

Camelot Where You Are #26, Margaret

"What says Camelot more than Legos, a girl, and an imagination?"

So says Margaret of her daughter Mary's latest castle.

I agree. I built my Camelot with different materials, but the girl and the imagination were indispensable parts.

Thank you, Margaret (and Mary!).


**********

Thanks for playing this week, everyone! Here's the latest poop:

Be sure to vote this weekend for your favorite Camelot Where You Are entry from this week. The poll will appear at the upper left side of the blog tonight (as late as I can manage to stay up) and will remain there until midnight Sunday night.

I have two more entries for the contest so far, so while we await a full complement we'll have a regular blog week next week. Is there a bit of Camelot where you are? Take a photo and enter it! The details are here. Each weekly winner receives a free copy of my new novel, Camelot & Vine, IF AND WHEN I EVER GET THE THING PUBLISHED.

And I will! It's just taking a little longer than I'd hoped. That, my friends, simply means more winners and more free books. So send in your entry!

Camelot Where You Are #25, Speedway

"I finally got to my Camelot," says Speedway, "a White Castle fast food hamburger stand at the corner of 16th and Illinois in downtown Indy. It's one of those regional chains that's been around for many years. Many people who've moved away from Indy get a hankerin' for the little sliders and have relatives send them a box. It was such a phenomenon that White Castle has made cartons of the frozen burgers available for purchase in many groceries.

"I can't stand them myself and don't ever buy them. The little beef patties are square, with holes punctured in them. They're grilled then steamed (the reason for the holes) with chopped onions on a small steamed roll.

"White Castle is, I found out, the oldest hamburger chain in the country, having been founded in 1921 in Wichita, Kansas. As you no doubt will notice, my 'castle' comes complete with crenelations." Speedway mentions the dumpsters have crenelations, too.

We had White Castle in my Illinois hometown. You?

Thanks for entering, Speedway!


**********

Camelot & Vine updates here!
Camelot Where You Are contest details here!

Voting this weekend, so stick around!

Camelot Where You Are #24, Susan

Susan and Tommy did some research for their entry.

"Forbes considers Silver Lake America’s hippest hipster neighborhood," says Susan. "So perhaps it’s no surprise that’s where you’ll find Camelot Kids preschool.

"I moved away from this area a few years ago, but I still use my Silver Lake mechanic. When I picked up my car a few weeks ago, I drove right past Camelot Kids. I felt like I was witnessing a miracle, I was so excited to see it! I didn’t have time to take a photo, so I went back with my model, Tommy, who’ll do anything for a treat and the Camelot cause."

Thank you, Susan, and thank you, Tommy, for believing this is a cause!


**********

Camelot & Vine updates here!
Camelot Where You Are contest details here!

Voting this weekend, so stick around!

Camelot Where You Are #23, Julie

I'm all for a trip to London, aren't you?

Julie sent in her entry, saying, "I was in London this summer for the Olympics and when I saw your photo contest I just knew I had to have at least one picture from my trip that fit the bill.

"Since the Tower of London was already entered, I decided to go a different route. I can't remember where exactly this picture was taken (my friend actually snapped the picture, must give credit where it's due!), but attached you'll find a picture of a dragon statuette somewhere in downtown London.

"A dragon in the middle of Britain? What's more Camelot than that!?"

I'm not going to quibble. If I remember correctly (and I may or may not), there's a dragon or two in Le Morte d'Artur, or at least the Mabinogion. No? Yes? It matters not a whit.

Thank you, Julie!

**********

Camelot & Vine updates here!

Camelot Where You Are contest details here!

Voting this weekend!

Exclamation points!

Boz by Request

photo by John Sandel

Yesterday, Dive gave me license to indulge when, regarding the blog, he commented, "As long as Boz appears on a regular basis it definitely has the right stuff in it."

So here is your Weekend Pupdate:

These days, our old pooper gets pooped a lot easier than he used to. Some days he seems "tetched in the haid," as my country relatives used to say. I don't think he's senile. I think he just needs to take his time to ponder things, like whether to walk all the way to the curb, or which way to turn at the end of the sidewalk. Maybe no turn. Maybe just stay right there.

For a while he was getting me up in the wee hours to go outside. But he sleeps through most nights now, and through most days, too. He's tired.

Getting old wears a person out. 

Zen Monday: #216

photo by John Sandel

Here is your Monday Zen.

Now you say something.

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We're taking a break from the Camelot Where You Are photo contest this week but we'll get back to it next week. Details are here.

Last week's winner is (drumroll)
Ann Erdman, with #19, the Knight in Shining Armor at Avalon Lake!
Here's how it all shook out:

 

Thank you all for participating. The winner gets a free copy of my new novel, Camelot & Vine, when it comes out (more on that this week). 

I want to come up with a prize for everyone who enters. I'm wracking my brains but bookmarks just don't cut it. Any ideas?

Idylls are the Thing

It's not that I haven't been taking photos, but I couldn't resist posting another shot by a guest photographer: my husband, John Sandel. I wish I were tall enough to photograph such a view; luckily, John is.

While you're here today, please vote for your favorite photo from this week's entries in the Camelot Where You Are photo contest. The poll is at the upper left of the blog and will be available until midnight Sunday night. It should work; I believe I've got the time zone thing figured out.

I can't tell you how much I've been enjoying the contest. I've received so many great entries that we're going to skip Zen Monday this coming week and do Camelot for five days straight.

In case you're wondering why: it's because I've written a novel and it's being published this fall. Camelot & Vine is about an actress who, on the day before her 40th birthday, loses everything she never cared about, flees Hollywood for England, falls through a gap in time and accidentally saves King Arthur's life. A lot more happens after that. Think 6th century Britain, chain mail, love triangles and Saxon invaders.

Each weekly winner receives a free copy of Camelot & Vine upon publication, about which I will have more details soon. Publication day, whatever day it turns out to be, will be the final day for entries. 

Send in your pic now! It's easy to enter and anyone can do it. Entry details are here. And be sure to vote for your favorite! Thanks.

Camelot Where You Are, #8

Here's the entry from Jo, of A View of Sydney. I posted the photo as large as I could. If you'll forgive the pixellation, I'll let Jo explain:

"I quickly saw your post re Camelot before we had a few days away. So while driving up the highway at 110klms I grabbed my iphone and snapped this guy...I hope this is what you are after.

"I have just had Carpal Tunnel surgery on my main hand so my camera has been having a rest. I would have liked to have stopped but we had car trouble and were already 48 hours behind schedule. Sorry for bad quality. This is roughly 750klm from my home."

It's the Macadamia Castle! Thank you, Jo!

**************

I can't figure out how to pre-post the poll, so it's up! Be sure to vote for your favorite of this week's entries in the Camelot Where you Are photo contest! We've been having a blast and we've got more photos coming next week.

Each weekly winner receives a free copy of Camelot & Vine upon publication, which I plan/hope/expect will be in October. Publication day, whatever day it turns out to be, will be the final day for entries. 

Send in your pic now! It's easy to enter and anyone can do it.  

Entry details are here.

Camelot Where You Are, #7

Here's what Susan Z of San Diego Daily Photo says about her entry:

"If we had a Camelot here in San Diego, it would be the idyllic village of Coronado, and of course we have the castle 'Hotel Del Coronado'!

Hope you enjoy San Diego's Camelot!"

For those who don't know the Hotel Del, Wikipedia's got the story. This historic beachfront resort has been the backdrop for several movies, most notably Some Like It Hot. We can add an American Camelot reference by noting that John F. Kennedy stayed there, as did many other presidents.

Thanks for your entry, Susan!

**************

Be sure to return during the remainder of the week to see more entries in the Camelot Where You Are photo contest. And stay tuned!
Over the weekend we'll vote for this week's favorite. 

Each weekly winner receives a free copy of Camelot & Vine upon publication, which I plan/hope/expect will be in October.
Publication day, whatever day it turns out to be, will be the final day for entries. 

Send in your pic now! It's easy to enter and anyone can do it.  

Entry details are here.

Camelot Where You Are, #6

Today's entry is from Lauren, otherwise known as LOLfromPasa. Yes, she lives in England and yes, she's from Pasadena! You can find her at Today Around Coventry Daily Photo.

I recognized this imposing castle immediately. Here's what Lauren says about it:

"Had to be Warwick Castle. For me....Camelot is just up that garden path."

I'm a little jealous. On my trip to England (ages ago) when I studied at Oxford for a summer, I visited Warwick (pronounced "Warrick"). It's magnificent, as you can see. The tour takes you through only a small part of it, though there's plenty to see. It's just so huge, leaving room for your imagination to wonder what further adventures hide within its walls.

The castle overlooks the river Avon, and it's from that side that Lauren took her photo.

Thank you, Lauren!

**************

I'm excited about the Camelot Where You Are photo contest. Be sure to return during the remainder of the week to see more entries. And stay tuned! Over the weekend we'll vote for this week's favorite. Last week's winner was Chris, with King Arthur Flour.

Each weekly winner receives a free copy of Camelot & Vine upon publication, which I plan/hope/expect will be in October. Publication day, whatever day it turns out to be, will be the final day for entries. 

Send in your pic now! It's easy to enter and anyone can do it.  

Entry details are here.

Camelot Where You Are, #5

I could handle living here!

Our fifth contest entry comes from the wonderful Fabrizio Zanelli of Torino Daily Photo. Fabrizio gives us Castello del Valentino, the Castle of Valentino in the Italian city we Americans call Turin.

Fabrizio says the palace (not a castle, as we learned last week) was

"...built (as we see it now) around 1630 but the first building is around 1275. At the moment it hosts the School of Architecture in Torino but...has been chosen by Mr. Ban Ki-moon for annual U.N. convention. The castle has two façades: one, the main, to the city, the other (the one I prefer) to the river, that run along the city sharing the town from the hill. --- In Italian it is called 'Castello del Valentino' but if the English translation: 'Valentino's Castle' seems to be the only one possible (and I used it in past me too), I personally think that it is wrong. 'Valentino' is the name of *the park* around the Castle, so, in few words, there isn't any Valentino owner of it. So I'd prefer to call the castle in the Valentino's Park.

"(Valentino was a Saint and his remains are in a church at the other side of the river. Originally he was buried in a small church in the park nearby the castle -from here the name of park-. Legend says that around 1700 each 14th of February a sort of party where hold in the park and each lady was used to call his lover: Valentino... but you see, these are legends (also: tales) and I can assure you that Torino in February is cold and frozen (in fact XX Winter Olympic Games in 2006 were in February), so I am not sure that they would have loved a party in the park...)

"Last but not the least consider that Torino is the most rich UNESCO site in Italy (strange but true because it was the first Capital of Italy with Savoy Royal House and you know that Queens and Kings were -and are- not used to live in two-rooms flat), so we have lot of other Castle.

My best,

fabrizio"


Thank you, Fabrizio!

********** 

I'm excited about the Camelot Where You Are photo contest! The entries continue to roll in and I'll continue to accept them until the publication date of Camelot & Vine. I don't have the exact date yet so keep sending them! Entry details are here.

I'll post your entries during the week and we'll vote on the weekends for each week's favorite. Each weekly winner wins a free copy of my new book, Camelot & Vine, upon publication. Publication day is the final day for entries.

It's easy to enter and anyone can do it. Send in your pics! 

Camelot Where You Are, #4

It would be fun to make you guess where this bit of Camelot is located. Some of you surely recognize it. Even if you can't identify it you can tell this is the real wall of a real castle.

This entry comes from Dive. He recently clarified the difference between a castle and a palace for his blog readers at Small Glass Planet: "a castle is a fortification and will often have a hall or palace within it; a palace is merely a big house were someone self-important happens to live." Being a well-read architect, Dive is qualified to make the clarification.

What we have here is a castle, namely, the Tower of London. What a place! If and when you visit London, don't skip it. I don't care how over-rehearsed your guide is (mine was a riot), go. The history, the glory, the depravity, the years, the anguish, it's still there, you can't help but feel it and if you don't you're wearing too much armor.

I knew those hole-in-the-wall thingies were for arrows. I asked Dive what they're called.

"Those 'thingies' are known locally as 'wossnames'," said Dive, "but more correctly are simply called 'arrow slits'. The opening behind them (a niche big enough for a couple of men and their bows) is called the 'embrasure'."

You don't find a lot of wossnames in modern America, but you find them in Camelot.

Thank you, Dive!

**********

Stay tuned! Tomorrow and Sunday we'll vote for this week's favorite entry. Each weekly winner gets a free copy of my new book, Camelot & Vine, upon publication in October. Publication day is the final day for entries.

I'm excited about the Camelot Where You Are photo contest. It's easy to enter and anyone can do it. I'll accept entries until the day the book is published, which should be in early to mid-October. So send in your pics! Entry details are here.

Camelot Where You Are, #3

Altadena has plenty of Camelot, and Laura Berthold Monteros proves with her entry:

"Here's my castle shot. It's the G.G. Green Carriage House in Altadena. You can see it from the Altadena Library parking lot. The library is on the site of the main house, which was torn down when the library was built. The carriage house, which was a small horse barn and garage for the carriages, has been turned into a family home. I went on a tour of it a couple years ago. The main home was built in 1888 and the carriage house shortly thereafter; it was sold in 1900. G.G. Green made his fortune in patent medicines, and built the Green Hotel in Pasadena in 1898, which is now known as the Castle Green."

You can find Laura Monteros and her writing in a number of places:
All Things Rose Parade
Tournament of Roses Examiner
Altadena Headlines Examiner
San Gabriel Foothills Examiner

Thank you, Laura!

**********

Stay tuned! Over the weekend we'll vote for this week's favorite entry. Each weekly winner receives a free copy of Camelot & Vine upon publication, which I plan/hope/expect will be in October. Publication day, whatever day it turns out to be, will be the final day for entries. So send in your pics!

I'm excited about the Camelot Where You Are photo contest. It's easy to enter and anyone can do it. Entry details are here.

Camelot Where You Are, #2

What did I tell you? Camelot is everywhere, yes it is, and Chris found it at the grocery store.

Chris found more than one grocery item. I won't tell you what the others are in case you find them and they become your entry. The contest requires one entry per person, so I asked Chris which of her photos she wanted to enter. "The King Arthur flour, of course!"

And of course King Arthur Flour has a website. Check it out. I think it's funny that they talk about their "all American flours," considering King Arthur is the quintessential British hero.

Thanks for your entry, Chris!

********** 

I'm excited about the Camelot Where You Are photo contest. It's easy to enter and anyone can do it. I'll accept entries until the day the book is published, which should be in early to mid-October. Send in your pics! Entry details are here.

Then, all you have to do is stay tuned! Every weekend we'll vote for that week's favorite entry. Each weekly winner gets a free copy of Camelot & Vine upon publication. 

Camelot Where You Are, #1

Camelot in Jerusalem!

Our Camelot Where You Are photo contest begins with a flourish from Dina, of Jerusalem Hills Daily Photo.

Chivalric remnants can be found all around Dina's area, what with the Crusaders having charged through some years ago. Dina works on archaeological digs and knows all about these things. She told me that just this year, a Crusader horseshoe and its nails were discovered on the Temple Mount, and she got to see these items at the City of David annual archaeological conference.

The statue in Dina's photo stands outside the Tower of David Museum of Jerusalem History, and is one of a pair Dina posted about in 2008.

Thanks for your entry, Dina! And thanks for kicking off the contest so grandly.

********** 

Stay tuned! This weekend we'll all vote for this week's favorite entry. Each weekly winner gets a free copy of Camelot & Vine upon publication in October. Publication day is the final day for entries.

I'm excited about the Camelot Where You Are photo contest. It's easy to enter and anyone can do it. I'll accept entries until the day the book is published, which should be in early to mid-October. So send them in! Entry details are here.

Want to win more books? PDP guest author and friend Margaret Finnegan is having a Goodreads Giveaway of an autographed copy of The Goddess Lounge!

The Reveal

Homemade sound studio!

I made it myself.
With help, of course.
As I told you yesterday, my sister made the blanket.
The walls are a three-sided, fold-up sound booth from an old friend.
The chair is a family heirloom (it's small, and I needed small).
I snagged the music stand from an old day-job when the company was getting rid of stuff.
The microphone was a gift from long-time friend and voice artist Teri Clark Linden.
John got the mic stand on eBay. I sandbagged it with the kind of ankle weights one uses for working out. (Apparently I'm not using them for that at the moment.)
The lamp came from the garage. I can't see the laundry and I don't care.
The headphones are from my radio days.
My friend, actor and voice artist Karyn O'Bryant, taught me how to use TwistedWave.com, the recording program. Remember when Adele and I went to see Karyn in the play?
That's a beach towel on the floor, to help muffle sound. All the beach towels in the house belong to Boz, so I have it on loan. As you can see, Boz monitors my use of it.
That's all. There's no room for anything else. There's barely room for me.

John got a shot of me in my booth, wearing my appropriate Spongebob Squarepants T-shirt.

The sound quality is pretty good for a booth I made by myself.

My first project: the Belinda's Birthday audiobook, which will be about 8 or 9 minutes long. I've already recorded it and will edit this week. I'll let you know when it's available because I am THAT excited about it.

As for Camelot & Vine, if I record the audiobook I'll probably do it in a bigger studio. Because Camelot & Vine is longer than 8 or 9 minutes, and Boz gets impatient for his towel.