REDONDOWRITER'S SACRED ORDINARY

Haiku My Heart Friday: Quinceañera

Quinceañera

Loving mother tends daughter

Womanhood is here.

Two weekends ago I was taking photos at a Peninsula Friends of the Library event at Malaga Cove Library and when I looked into the adjacent park, a photographer was taking the formal photos of this beautiful young girl's Quinceañera. It was just mom, daughter and photographer and I'm sure that later that day or perhaps sometimes later, a huge party marking her 15th year would follow. I popped out the door and shot this photo. Living in Southern California with a large Latino population, this milestone is often celebrated and my own granddaughter was in one when she lived with me. 

I keep my thousands of photos in iPhoto and I had to search for this photo of a young librarian patron I took at the Malaga Cove Library some years ago. I like to imagine that this little girl in her pink dress will somehow be that beautiful woman above. 

Be sure to visit Rebecca's Recuerda mi Corazon to see the posts of all our Haiku Friday participants. 

 

 

 

Postcards from Paradise: Redondo Beach from Palos Verdes

Our weather in Southern California has been absolutely spectacular the past few days making me even more aware of how good I feel now compared to how I've felt the past four months. As I grow older I am no longer tolerant to cold and dark, but I just keep on keeping on. It's only when the days grow longer and warmth returns that I remember that emotionally there are two mes. One me has a sunny disposition in spring, summer and fall, and one me really slows down (hibernates in a way) when the days are so short and cold. All I can say is that when my mom and dad moved their family in the 1930s from Michigan to California, my sunny future was cast, and for that I am grateful. I was born late in that decade and I've lived in California ever since--different places, but in the South Bay area of L.A. County for the past 50 years. 

I took this photo about three years ago from a friend's home in the Malaga Cove area of Palos Verdes. That's Redondo Beach below with views all the way to Santa Monica. If you had a magnifying glass, you would see my townhouse somewhere tucked into the front third of the photo, two blocks back from the Redondo Beach Pier. 

I know I've said this ad nauseum, but somehow or other, never planned, I got plunked down in Redondo Beach after my divorce and I never knew I could love a place so much. It's nothing really special, I guess, compared to full-on resorts, but I am deeply moved by the fact or fluke that I am privileged to live here. Lorna and Dave are visiting from Canada right now and up until the past few days, it's been pretty chilly. In long Ottawa winters, they will remember these past few days, I'm sure. When my son and family visited a few weeks ago from Washington state, the weather wasn't as nice as it is now, but to them it was warm even when I thought it was cold.  

To see more Postcard from Paradise, visit Rebecca at Recuerda mi Corazon. 

Meet Aimee Bender: The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

If you have not read Aimee Bender's best seller "The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake," I highly recommend it. Though I read it last year, I appreciate the book a lot more now that I've met Aimee Bender and heard her speak not only about the book and its characters, but her writing process in general. She teaches creative writing at USC and after hearing her speak, how I wish I could take her class. 

She was the featured speaker tonight at the Palos Verdes Library District's One Book, One Peninsula annual event and I had the pleasure of taking photos of her and members of the community prior to the event sponsored by the Peninsula Friends of the Library. Here are a few you might enjoy:

She is one of the most down-to-earth writers I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. 

Here she is with her fiancee Mark Miller--and a plate of? Lemon cake!

And here are the little lemon and chocolate cakes up close. Rose is the primary character in "The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake," and she has the blessing/curse of tasting the emotions of the person who cooks. The person who baked this batch must have been really happy. 

If you check the Peninsula Friends of the Library blog tomorrow, there will be a series of photos available to see, if you are interested.  

Memories of Stumbling Toward Ecstasy at the Vanderlip Estate

This is Rebecca's Stumbling Toward Ecstasy Sunday and today she posts a story and black and white photos of a time in her childhood that she recalls stumbling toward ecstasy. It is exquisite and I hope you will take the time to read and see it for yourself. 

For me, this weekly challenge is just that: a challenge as it feels like every day is two steps forward, one step back . Sometimes ecstasy, sometimes despair, but usually my life is mundane, like most everyone's is. It's hard to look at my life objectively when I know the revolutionaries are in the streets in Egypt trying to overthrow the government; that we've had a cold snap with rain predicted and the homeless on L.A.'s Skid Row are only 18 miles from my home. And on, and on. It's easy to divert my stumbles with the monumental problems of others throughout the world. 

All we can do is look for the signs and wonders in our own little lives that remind us of our daily journey. 

When I scanned my iPhoto library tonight for a few photos that might trigger some stumbling towards ecstasy, I pulled up three that for me personally were almost mythic in memory. A year ago I was privileged to attend a musical showcase at the Vanderlip Estate in Palos Verdes only a few months after the death of the matriarch Elin Vanderlip. 

I had met Elin on several occasions and photographed her speaking at the Malaga Cove Library of the Palos Verdes Library District only weeks before her death. But, I had never visited the estate. When I did, I could feel Elin's presence but moreso the people who built these properties in the 1920s. I took many photos that early evening, but these three stand out as particularly magical. 

I hope you will enlarge these photos with a click of your mouse to see the beauty the lens tried to capture. I am a lover of the color blue, collect cobalt glass, and in my dreams blue objects often are present. Blue gates are a strong dream symbol for me. So, how truly amazing to find that on this property are blue gates leading to various places. And that pink staircase. Amazing. This staircase leads up to the Italianate pavilion at the top of the property with panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean and the California coastline. 

This blue gate opened onto a swimming pool near the mansion. As I look at this photo this evening I can imagine myself floating here on a balmy summer night with an amazing view of the stars and full moon. Am I a romantic, or what? 

There are a few Della Robbia carvings on the exterior of the old villa, but this one is over the door leading from the west facing patio into the main part of the house. The link to Elin Vanderlip's story above shows her beneath this beautiful piece. 

So, these kinds of wonders are not just in museums far away in Europe. In this case there is a villa not that far away from where I live that I have long occupied in my dreams, in my journals, and musings. 

On this chilly winter night looking back at this series of pictures makes me feel warm and cozy.

A Reception at One of Palos Verdes' Early Spanish-Style Houses

On Sunday evening of alumni weekend at my school there was a reception at one of the early (1927) Spanish-style houses. This house had once been deeded to the founders of my school, but it is privately owned now. I just wanted to share with you a few of the decorating touches that I photographed and the lovely view of Redondo Beach and the Pacific Ocean as seen from one of the house's terraces. The current owners have restored the house to its original grandeur--and made many interior upgrades. The house is above the Palos Verdes Golf Club and it is a genuinely magical place. 

"Back in the day" the founders actually owned the house next door as well and many students actually lived in these houses dormitory-style. I live in the lowlands of Redondo Beach that you see off in the distance of the scenery shot. Don't you just love the white Day of the Dead bride? 

 

Pomegranate Rd. is a Fitting Tribute to Pomegranates and Paper Blog

When I saw this street sign inside one of the gated Portuguese Bend communities this morning, I thought of Loretta Benedetto Marvel of Pomegranates and Paper blog and writer for Cloth, Paper, Scissors magazine.

Loretta, an artist, teacher of art and writer, is the most creative lawyer I’ve ever known. I knew she would get a kick out of this photo. What was I doing at Portugues Bend this morning? I attended an estate sale on Pomegranate Rd. in Rancho Palos Verdes in what is called the landslide area near Wayfarers Chapel and Abalone Cove. If any of you have driven Palos Verdes Drive South where the land slippage affects the road, it’s a scary roller coaster ride, particularly on a foggy night. 

But, this whole area is so very beautiful and the communities behind the gate are like a slice of rural heaven complete with horse properties and lots of wide open space still in its natural state. You don't see that often in Los Angeles. 

Knowing Loretta's penchant for beautiful things, I know she would buy a vacation home on Pomegranate Rd. if she had the money, but--she is saving for a wedding right now that you can read about on her blog.

I did not find anything at the estate sale I wanted to buy today, by the way, but driving there and back on such a beautiful day was like taking a mini-vacation. 

 

 

 

 

 

Enlarge Your Child's or Grandchild's Life With Books

 "There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. Love of books is the best of all."

    — Jacqueline Kennedy

I volunteered this afternoon at the Malaga Cove Branch Library used book sale as I do one Saturday per month. Malaga Cove is one of the three Palos Verdes Library District libraries and I LOVE volunteering there. The most wonderful people come in to browse and buy books. They become like extended family. 

This little cutie was one of many kids who came in with their parent or parents and went home with a sack full of books today. This little one's big brother was there, too, but he was camera shy. 

Mark your calendars for the two monthly Palos Verdes libraries book sales which benefit the library district's programs. Peninsula Center's sales are Thurs., Fri., Sat. and Sun. each month and Malaga Cove is the third Fri. and Sat. of each month. Just check the Palos Verdes Library events calendar for more details. 

If you don't live in the South Bay area of Los Angeles, be sure to attend your own library's used book sales. This resource greatly benefits all of our libraries which continue to be hit by funding cuts. 

Bucket List Event Fulfilled: A Visit to the Vanderlip Estate

One of my later life bucket list items was to one day visit the famed Vanderlip Estate in Rancho Palos Verdes. It was built by the late Frank A. Vanderlip, the wealthiest early landowner on the Peninsula, in the early 1920s. His son Kelvin Vanderlip’s widow Elin Vanderlip lived there and I had met her various times at social events but had never been invited though she often entertained there. Then Elin died in July 2009 at age 90 and I assumed this wish would not be fulfilled. I had photographed her only a few weekends prior to her death at a library function. She was one of the those larger than life kinds of persons. I wrote about her on June 16, 2009.

Elin’s daughter, Narcissa and her siblings, have not sold the home, as it turns out, and I was invited several weekends ago by a friend to attend an outdoor youth theater presentation given by the Ensemble Theater Company and Boomkat Productions in the gardens. These are non-profit theater companies established by Narcissa and her husband Parmer Fuller who teaches at USC.

I picked up my friend and off we went to the compound in Portuguese Bend I had longed to visit all the years I've lived in South Bay. I was not disappointed. The gardens were magnificent, the compound intriguing and it was a gorgeous evening although the ocean was misted over with fog.  The evening was extremely entertaining and I look forward to seeing one of the companies' productions.

Excerpts from a 2007 write-up on the Vanderlip gardens from Landscape Online, “A Forsaken Garden Survives: The Mediterranean Gem of Palos Verdes", appears below:

Frank Vanderlip, the "Father of Palos Verdes", constructed his first residence on the Peninsula in 1916 in the Portuguese Bend area, the "Old Ranch Cottage", now known as the "Cottage". Other buildings were added to the estate in the 1920's including a small guest house and garage called "La Casetta" and a larger guest house known as the "Villetta", now known as "Villa Narcissa". The Cottage is still owned by Suzanne Vanderlip, the widow of John Vanderlip, the youngest son of Frank Vanderlip, Sr., and Villa Narcissa is still owned by Elin Vanderlip, the widow of Frank Vanderlip Sr.'s third son, Kelvin. A third structure, a barn and stables called the "Farmstead" later became the Portuguese Bend Riding Club. The Vanderlip properties are located at the end of Vanderlip Drive, near the end of Narcissa Drive, the road through a private gated community just south of the Wayfarers' chapel at the beginning of the Portuguese Bend area, and public access to visit the property is not available. You can see the original gatehouse to the property at the gated entrance of Narcissa Drive just off of Palos Verdes Drive South.

To see a beautiful set of photos of the estate and gardens on 9/7/2008 taken by Brad Graverson of the Daily Breeze, go to My Capture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Favorite Shot of Malaga Cove

I have photographed the back side of the Malaga Cove Plaza hundreds of times over the years, but I never tire of this scene. For those of you who read here regularly, I have two separate paintings by local artists of this exact scene. Who needs to go to Europe when you have this practically in your back yard and right by the Malaga Cove Library where I spend so much time? 

 

My Grandsons Help Me Publicize the Big Art Book Sale This Weekend

For those of you who read here regularly, my grandsons Henry (r) and Fritz visited grandma last Saturday while I was volunteering at the Malaga Cove Library. Knowing that our big special sale of art books takes place this Saturday and Sunday, I pressed them into service for publicity. 

If you live in Los Angeles and you are an art book aficianado, check out all the details at the Peninsula Friends of the Library blog. The two books the guys are holding are just two of hundreds donated from a Los Angeles estate. All profits will benefit the Peninsula Library District's programs--and that means a lot in these days of nationwide slashes to libraries in our downturned economy.

As for Henry and Fritz, they sure are getting big, aren't they? How blessed I am to have six beautiful and healthy grandkids ranging in ages from 23 to 20 months. These guys are five and six. 

Tell me about your own grandkids, if you have them.