Twenty Four At Heart

Summer Shopping

I rarely shop.

Around the holidays I shop for everyone else.

This time of year, I pick up a few things for myself.

I wear "summer" clothes pretty much year round due to the climate here.  This is the time of year when all the warm weather stuff is in the stores so I stock up.

Today, I thought I'd do two things.

First, I'm going to ask for your help with a few items I'm searching for but have yet to find.

Second, I'm going to show you a couple items I've already picked up for the summer.

What I'm Looking For:

1.  A great summer handbag.  Requirements:  Not so cheap it falls apart, not outrageously expensive.  (I'll probably only use it for one season.)  Must have pockets for my phone, etc.  I like bags with pockets so everything doesn't get lost.  It also shouldn't be heavy - I can't carry heavy bags with my bum arm.  It must look fresh and summer-y-ish.

2.  A comfortable sandal with a reasonable heel.  I don't wear four inch heels.  I want a shoe I can walk in, but one that is nicer than a super casual flat sandal.  I have a lot of casual flat sandals.  I want something a little dressier, with a heel, but still California casual.  If I can slip it on and off, I will be thrilled.

3.  A casual, flowing, long dress for Hawaii.  Something flattering I can throw on to lounge around in for the evenings after a day at the beach.  I have big boobs, I can't wear halter dresses.  In fact, big boobs make a lot of dresses difficult - I don't want to look like a cow just because I'm well endowed.

4.  The perfect carry on/travel bag.  I have a few long distance trips coming up.  I will probably end up checking one big bag, but I want to find the perfect bag to carry on with me.  It needs to fit my laptop, my kindle, my phone, travel necessities, etc.  Rollers would be ideal with my arm constraints, but I want it to be small enough to fit under my seat on a plane so I have easy access to the contents while flying.  Is there some type of tote bag with pop out rollers?  I'm willing to spend more if I can find the perfect item.  Making travel easy with my bum arm is a top priority.

5.  Shorts I don't look terrible in.  (There's really nothing more I can add, is there?  I'm looking for a miracle!)

6.  The perfect beach bag.  This is going to be filled with sand by the first day end of summer.  I want it big enough to hold a beach towel or two, and pockets are a must to protect my phone, etc. from the elements.

What I've Already Picked Up:

1.  Flat sandals for hanging out in.  I mainly wear my super-casual Rainbows around home, but sandals are an art form in Orange County.  I wear them year round and like to have several pairs in my closet to go with anything/everything.

I couldn't decide which color:

I bought both.

They were under $25.00, are super comfortable, and I'll be slipping them on as I run out the door to PR's baseball games for the next twelve months.

I also picked up these:

I like the neutral color, and the added bling make them fun.

2.  Tie Back Tank.  I bought this cute, comfy, shirt from Anthropologie
with Hawaii in mind but I'll wear it all summer.

I imagine I'll be throwing it on over my swimsuit at the beach, at the pool, etc.

As you can see, there are more things on my "Need To Get" list than on my "Already Have" list.

Have you already picked up any summer items?

Do you have any suggestions for me?

I can use all the help I can get!

Sincerely,

Your Not-So-Girly Friend

© Twenty Four At Heart

Because I Have a Bird Brain

Wow - it was a whirlwind of a weekend!

Also?

New medication ... lots of side effects.  

Aack!

I have so many things I want to blog about, but I didn't have the time today.

I apologize.

In other words, it was not my intention to post another Phoebe post today, but I ran out of time and mental focus so this is what you get.  (I know some of you love Phoebe updates and some of you don't.  My goal is to keep you updated, but NOT bore you to death with daily bird photos!)

Anyway ...

This is a not-so-great photo of our pool from our deck:

We had winds this weekend, so there are leaves floating around in it - but you get the general idea.  The water is really a deep aqua color due to the type of pebbletec we had the pool made with.  The slide is to the left, normally the waterfall runs down the rocks in the middle and off the diving ledge, and there are stairs leading up to the slide on the right.

Inside the little cave/grotto is a bench that can seat two people comfortably.  Our pool is eight feet deep at the waterfall end, so the bench inside the grotto makes for a comfortable resting spot.

When you're sitting in the cave, on that little bench (assuming the waterfall is not on), the view looks like this:

When the waterfall is on, all you see is a big current of water coming down in front of you.  It's kind of fun.

Lately, I've been keeping the waterfall off so Phoebe can get in the grotto to feed her babies.

Phoebe hates the waterfall.

I'm explaining all this so you understand it's impossible to see Phoebe's nest unless you get in the pool, swim to the grotto and perch your butt on the grotto bench.  If you look back at my first photo, you'll notice you can't see the nest at all.

The babies are now four days old and they're starting to look like birds.  

I think the above is my, so far, favorite photo of the babies.  (And yes, there are four in the nest even though you can only see two beaks in the above photo.)

Phoebe is feeding her babies constantly.  She will even feed them if I'm in the pool swimming, but she won't get near the nest if anyone else from my family is in the pool.

Phoebe and I have, apparently, reached a point of mutual trust in our relationship.

The babies heard the click of my camera and thought it must be mom coming in to feed them again.

Kind of cute in an ugly, newborn, sort of way.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Fountain at Sunset

I took this with my iPhone a few days ago.

I think it's so pretty with the palms in the background!

© Twenty Four At Heart

A Horse is a Horse, Of Course ..

I feel like I haven't stopped for a second these last few weeks.

Spring is always a busy time of year at our house because it's baseball season.  My son plays baseball year round, but in the spring the schedule becomes chaotic   insane nonstop.

Anyway ....

Yesterday I had a morning photo shoot with a horse.

Two horses, actually.

I don't know if I've ever mentioned Money Town has its own stables and a lot of equestrian trails?  Along with The Real Housewives, there are horsey people living in Money Town too.

This is Rio:

Isn't he beautiful?

His mane is naturally wavy ... it hasn't been braided to get that fancy hot-guy look.

This is (a very affectionate) Austin with his owner:

They love each other.

I haven't had time to go through all the photos yet, but these two struck me immediately.  I think I'm going to have a hard time narrowing down the best shots, because at first glance there seem to be quite a few special ones.

Getting good horse photos is more difficult than you would think.  Ideally, you want to get a shot with the horses ears UP, but a lot of time the ears are twitching around - first UP and then DOWN.  

And then?  

One ear goes UP while the other ear goes DOWN ....

Well, you get the idea.

Twitchy ears!

I told Rio and Austin's owner I'd like to pay them a few visits so they get used to both me and my camera.  Mainly, I just want to spend more time with them because I fell in love with both of them.

I brought Rio and Austin carrots and apples so they would like me.  (They did.  At least, they liked me as long as I was feeding them!)  Austin is the more curious of the two, and wanted to slobber on check out my camera up close.

Austin accidentally stepped on me.  I was wearing my Nike Free running shoes which means it was pretty much like being barefoot.

It was my fault; Austin didn't even know anything had happened.  Do you know how much a quarter horse weighs?

A lot!  (I think about a thousand pounds?)

This is an iPhone photo of what I'm quite sure is my broken big (and getting bigger by the second) toe.  It's much more swollen and colorful now than it was when the photo was taken.

But that's okay ...

Because guess what?

After all I've gone through, a broken toe is just not a big deal.

Spending a morning with Rio and Austin was worth it.

© Twenty Four At Heart 

Oh Baby Baby Its A Wild World

* Today is a "nature" post.  If you hate the outdoors, come back tomorrow!  (Or go smoke a pack of cigarettes, have a few martinis, and watch a movie - whatever!) *

I was recently talking with a woman in our neighborhood and she commented my backyard is "amazing, it's like a bird sanctuary and wildlife refuge mixed into one."

Indeed it is ....

Our yard backs up to a national forest.  A few large critters are stopped by our fence, but a lot of the others don't really understand where the national forest leaves off and our backyard begins.

Many times I'm too busy running here and there to observe them for long.  Lately, I've been trying to take small breaks to just sit quietly with my camera and watch, shoot (in the photography sense), and enjoy them.

If you've been reading here for long, you already know a lot of hummingbirds hang out in my backyard.  They live here year round, unlike areas with cooler climates.  In fact, we have more hummingbirds than we know what to do with. 

I love everything about the above photo.  I don't know what it is, exactly, that makes me love it so much - but I do.

Leapin' lizards!

This lizard jumped the distance down from our fairly high patio step.  I love how his shadow, as he flies through the air, is visible on the patio below him.  Briefcase wants a copy of the Leapin' Lizard photo for his office.  

Why?  

I guess it's a guy thing ...??

I think this is a Chipping Sparrow.

I might be wrong - and if I am, you're welcome to tell me what type of bird it is in my comments section.  Whatever it is, we have a lot of them.  In fact, we have so many birds of varying species in our yard this year, it's sort of ridiculous.  I won't bore you with all of them, but I'm going to keep trying to get decent photos of the hawks and owls.

Remember Phoebe?  She's (surprise!) a Black Phoebe and has a nest with four eggs in our pool grotto.  The eggs still haven't hatched.  (I check every day when I swim.)  I took this photo of her early one morning with my iPhone.  

Phoebe is almost a member of the family at this point.  One of my readers suggested I get a Phoebe-cam so you could watch her eggs hatch.  If anyone wants to donate one, let me know!

And last, for today anyway, is the wildest animal of all.

Are you ready?

Brace yourself ....

(Taken with my Canon S95)

Yes, dogs DO smile.

I have a companion with me every single time I'm in the pool.  

I don't think he could be any happier.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Snips and Snails and ...? Bits and Pieces

It seems like so much has been going on these last few weeks.

My list of topics to blog about is long.

In an effort to get partially caught up, I'm going to share random snippets today.

I'm always a little random anyway, aren't I?

•  A couple weeks ago, I attended a bridal shower for a woman who used to be the primary babysitter for my kids.  When did she become a woman and not a teen babysitter?  The shower was held in a beautiful home on Balboa Island in Newport Beach.  Here's the view from one of the balconies:

The shower was an all day affair, and beautifully done.  I dreaded getting dressed up and having to act like a girl girly, but it ended up being a very nice day.  My only regret was not having any time to stroll the island.  I'll have to make another trip to visit sometime soon - it's very close to me.

•  I bought this cookbook for my daughter.  Before mailing it to her, I looked through it and decided I wanted a copy too.  So yes, I did go back and buy a second one for myself.

The key words on the cover being "easy" and "fast."

•  Remember Problem Kid ... the mentally ill college student who was threatening my son before being institutionalized?  And then he was released, but threatening my son from New York?  We've been informed his family has taken him to Peru for treatment.  (Which is odd because didn't his family live in Brazil?  On the other hand ....)

It's a bit of a relief to have him out of the country.  I do hope he gets the treatment he needs.

•  I opened a fortune cookie a couple weeks ago and this is what the fortune said:

I feel like I should do something with my life now, but I'm not sure what ....

•  I bought a couple flowers to plant for the first time since the car accident.  (So yes, that means in nearly five years!)

And no, I don't have enough function in my arm to plant them.  They've been sitting around for days now.  I keep batting my eyelashes at Briefcase, but he hates gardening so he ignores me.  I'll let you know if they every get planted.  Sigh!  (Blogging about it today might help .... it's called husband-guilt via the wife's blog.  Not that I would ever resort to tactics like that ....)

•  Mocha enjoys holidays because she gets a few extra table scraps.  Can you tell she's interested?

And lastly, I have a new avatar for Twitter and Facebook.  I took a quick snapshot in the car Friday night and then edited it with the ColorSplash app.  (Don't worry, Briefcase was doing the driving.)  Telling you about our night out deserves an entire post of its own because celebrities (!) and OC madness might have been involved.

In the meantime, if you're on Twitter or Facebook you'll find me looking like this:

(The red scarf was my effort to show team support for the Angels baseball team.)

I know, I know ... Mocha is much cuter.

© Twenty Four At Heart 

A (Sort-of) Photography Friday: Photo Walk

Lately, more and more people have been asking me for photography lessons.

Knowing how to do something, and teaching it are two completely different things.

I think I'm becoming a better teacher though.

(Although, with photography there's always a lot more to learn no matter what level you're at.  Trust me, I realize I still have a lifetime of learning ahead of me.)

In any case, I thought you might like to see a few of the photos I took recently while on a combined photo walk/lesson.  In small print under each photo, I've added what aspect of photography I was trying to demonstrate at the time.  (For you non-photographers, just ignore the small print and enjoy the photos.)  

My student was a just-beginning photographer. 

(Go high or go low vs. taking all your photos at eye level.)

I intentionally let there be a little lens flare in the above photo.  I'm weird like that.

I love the sun-weathered sign.

(Difficult lighting - what do you do when metering isn't clear-cut?)

Morning light shining under the pier.  No, I didn't alter the colors in this photo ... the ocean really did look golden-ish with the morning sun on it.

The exact same photo in black and white ...

(How you post-process a photo can make a huge difference in the emotions a photo evokes.)

Do you, personally, prefer the above photo in color or black and white?

(Leading lines!)

Railroad tracks on the ocean's edge.

And what good are railroad tracks ...

(Object in motion, approaching you.)

Without a train?

© Twenty Four At Heart

Happiness Is ... Never a Clear-cut Deal

It's that time of year again.

We had temperatures in the 80's and 90's (27-33C) last weekend.

I heated up the pool to shake the winter chill out of it, and instantly my mood soared.

I love to swim.

Love!

My arm feels a little more normal in the water.  The water lifts my arm for me, something I can't do on my own.  I can't swim like a "normal" person can, but I've learned to swim in a modified fashion.

It makes me so happy.

I only allowed myself to swim a few laps this first weekend.  I have to begin each swim season very, very, slowly.  Otherwise, I pay the price with crippling pain.  I don't want to spend a couple weeks recovering from every attempt I make.

And to be honest, even though I only swam a few laps, my pain is gut wrenching right now.

But it's okay ...

It really is.

I know I can do it.

I just have to be patient and force myself to go slowly.

By the end of the summer I'll be able to do so much more.

For today, I'll pop a couple pain pills.

I'll turn the electrodes up in my bionic arm.

I'm seeing Dr. Painless in about a week to update my medications and review The.State.Of.My.Arm.  I might need to switch to a stronger pain med.  Which is better?  Taking more of what I've got (which is damn strong to start with) ... or less of a stronger drug?  These are the type of questions I need Dr. Painless to answer.

The type of pain I experience (whenever I actually attempt to use my arm) ... is such an intense, breathtaking, horrible, sickening pain.

Really, there are no words to describe it.

We all experience physical pain sometime in our life.  Many people even experience severe pain.

But this type of pain?

It's reserved for just a few of us.

Breathing takes effort.

Concentrate.

Breathe in very slowly.

Breathe out very slowly.

Concentrate.

Begin again.

It's something The Torturer used to work on with me.  Because the natural instinct with pain like this is to hold your breath.  It sounds crazy, doesn't it?  But breathing ... just the slight movement of breathing ... hurts.  

And so I find myself forgetting to breathe.  And then gasping.

Gasping for air, and gasping in pain.

I just have to forge on ...

Because it's worth it.

Swimming is worth it.  I love swimming.  

Swimming makes me so happy.

Photography is worth it.  I love photography.  

Photography makes me so happy.

Living my life means making it as normal of a life as I can.

Being truly alive means fighting to do the things I love - despite the pain they cause.

Remind me to re-read these words the next time I curl up in a ball whimpering, having a pity party.

Okay?

Promise?

© Twenty Four At Heart

Child's Footprint

I took this a couple weeks ago, and still love it.

I was wandering a local beach (as always?) when I looked down and saw a child's footprint in the sand.

© Twenty Four At Heart

New(ish) Furniture And A Virtual Tour

** Wow!  I've been amazed at the number of standout/canvas orders pouring in.  Thank you to each and every single one of you! **

We pretty much live outdoors here.

I'm not going to generalize and say that's the case for everyone who lives in Southern California, because it's not.

But?

For me, for my family, it is (in great part) an outdoor life.

When we bought our house, we bought it for the lot and the view.  It wasn't, by any means, my dream house.  Property here is outrageously expensive, as are homes, and we wanted a yard our kids could play in.  We wanted to be able to entertain outside, and host birthday parties and team parties and ...

Well, you get the idea!

After we built our pool, we realized with quite a sticker shock it would take a lot of outdoor furniture to truly make our backyard into the oasis we wanted it to be.

Can I just say, that shit is expensive!

In the last year or two, our outdoor furniture has been looking worse and worse.  The idea of buying such a large quantity of it again seemed ridiculous.  Instead, I went back to the original manufacturer and struck a deal.  For less than a third of the replacement cost, they agreed to come pick up all the furniture, sandblast it, repaint it, replace all the cushions and upholstery, and then redeliver it back to our house.

It was still a costly project, but it was way less costly than buying new.

(By the way, you should always buy outdoor furniture in the winter for the best price.  I was able to negotiate the pricing a lot.)

Yesterday afternoon, our "new" looking, but actually "old," furniture arrived.

I took a few quick snapshots so you could see what we've got going on.

We have a two level, very large, patio.  This three person (glider) sofa and table are on the lower level.  The area is almost always shaded by our deck.  

Mornings will often find me having coffee out on the sofa.  It's just steps outside my back door.  I also, often, write to YOU while sitting there.

If you go up two steps, you'll find yourself on the raised level of the patio.  I designed a raised patio to better take advantage of our mountain/lake view.

We have two bar chairs by the built in barbeque/bar area.  

Sometimes there's a margarita maker up there too.

Also on the upper patio level, is our biggest table.  It seats eight people comfortably, and has a really large fourteen foot umbrella to keep it shaded.  (The umbrella isn't up in this photo - sorry, I forgot!)  The chairs are swivel/rocking chairs too so they're very comfy to sit in.

It's a great table for entertaining, and it gets used a lot.

If you take a little walk, you'll find yourself out in the pool area.

On the farthest side of the pool, we have three slingback chairs.  Slingback chairs dry faster than cushioned chairs.  Nobody wants to get out of the pool and sit on a wet cushion so slingbacks were the way to go by the pool.  The slingback chairs swivel and rock too.

If we want to take a nap, read a book, or just relax - we have two very comfortable lounge chairs.  They share a little side table (not visible in this photo) and a ten foot umbrella.  Umbrellas are a must here because it gets very hot in the summer.

In the background of the above photo, you can see the spiral staircase leading up to our deck.  Before I take you up to the deck, I should show you the other side of the pool by the jacuzzi.

Are you asleep yet? 

Wake up we're almost ready to go up on the deck!  

These additional two chairs provide us with a total of seven seating areas by the pool.  The little side table comes in handy for drinks/sunglasses/sunscreen/etc.  When we have big parties we bring out folding chairs, beach chairs, neighbor's chairs ... whatever we can get our hands on.  We've had up to 150 people in our backyard for parties before.

(Um, we don't just raid the neighbor's houses for chairs.  We borrow chairs, and they let us because we invite them to most of our parties.  Just thought I should clarify ....)

OK, let's go up the spiral staircase to the very, very, very, big deck.

Why do we have such a big deck?

Well, because I wanted (a lot) more shade in our yard.  Honestly, it gets really HOT here in the summer.  Also, the minute I saw this particular (completely unlandscaped) lot, my brain could not stop designing it.  Our backyard is my personal baby.  I will cry if/when we sell this house.  A lot of my brain cells are permanently embedded in the design of this backyard. 

So, up on the deck ...

The deck is basically like two separate, adjoining, rooms.

On the first side, we have another table.  This table seats six comfortably.  It's a "bar" table, with bar chairs.  (That means it sits up high so you are looking OVER the railing of the deck when you're seated.)  Again, I wanted to maximize enjoyment of the mountain/lake view behind our house. 

We've enjoyed a lot of evenings/dinners at this table.  In the morning it gets full, very strong, sun so we rarely spend our mornings here.

On the far side, or next "room" of the deck, we have a more shaded area for relaxing.  There's a single lounger with an ottoman and a double lounger which fits two people easily.

My Golden is very excited the double lounger is back.

He's not allowed on it ....

© Twenty Four At Heart

Why is a Hole in the Rocks so Appealing?

The other day I told you I'd share a little more about one of my favorite beaches.  Some of you may know where this particular cove is, but I'm not telling.

Well, that's not true.

I'll sorta tell.

It's one of many coves in the city of Laguna, but that's all you're getting out of me.

Looking north through the arch:

Why is it caves, and arches, and holes in rocks are so appealing?

(If you make some sexual/Freudian connection you will forever ruin my love of our local beaches.  I do not think "sex" when I'm at the beach, I think "beach."  Oh wait, that isn't always true, is it?)

Anyway ....

Remember when I spent my "24th" birthday at the Surf and Sand Resort?

Well, there it is framed in the arch.

I thought you might like to see some local landscaping in progress too.

Do you see the two men on the hill above the beach?  

They're building a retaining wall and re-landscaping the hill.  When it's done it will be green and pretty again.  (And yes, those homes do cost tens of millions of dollars.)

Now, let's go back to the arch for a minute.

I bet you're wondering what's on the far (south) side of the arch.

Aren't you?

C'mon, admit it!

Well, when the tide is out ...

You can walk through the arch to the other side.  

And when the tide is out, and it's not covered with ocean, it looks like this:

© Twenty Four At Heart

Sunday Afternoon

* For those of you who requested it, I will have news on ordering the hummingbird standout photo in tomorrow's post. *

It was a perfect day yesterday.

Of course, perfect weather meant ... beach.

Here's a look at the road leading to one of my favorite (secret!) beaches:

Beautiful, isn't it?!

You really have to be careful not to drive over the guardrail or you'll go tumbling off the bluff onto "my" beach.

Here's a look at the little cove below:

See what I mean?

Perfect!

Isn't it pretty?

The water was so BLUE and AQUA-ISH yesterday!

There's a little hidden path, which in turn leads to a zillion stairs down to the beach.

Even the path is pretty.

When my kids were young, they loved the attraction of the arch (shown below).  I wouldn't let them near it if I wasn't with them.

The arch is more dangerous than it looks.  The tide comes up quickly and you can get trapped on the other side of it.  There's also a "hole" right as you step through to the other side.  You think you're on solid footing and then whoosh! you're in deeper water than expected.

Last week, a woman nearly drowned after she went out on the rocks near the arch.  A wave knocked her in the water and she didn't know how to swim.  Why would she have gone out onto rocks in the ocean if she didn't know how to swim?  Why do people do stupid things like that?  In any case, a man was on the balcony of his beach house, saw her plight, and went in after her - saving her life.

When the tide is down, it's a much safer situation.

(Funky colors in the above photo - sorry!  I was experimenting with filters!)

In upcoming posts, I'll share more about this special beach.  I don't want to bore you with too many photos in one day.

I do have to say again, though .....

It was a perfect day.

© Twenty Four At Heart

April Showers

We had a cold front come down from Alaska yesterday.

It was really cold by OC standards.  I'd tell you how cold, but then you'd laugh at me.

We even got hail which is very exciting around here.

Hail on the cushions!

And ... 

Hail on the grass!

Temperatures stayed cool, but a short while later it looked like this:

(View from my deck)

Even when we get fun "bad" weather, it doesn't last for long.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Fantastic Friday!

I am SO ready for the weekend, how about you?

First of all, the winner of yesterday's giveaway is:

MissMolly, with comment #40.

Congratulations MissMolly!

I keep wanting to sing "Good Golly Miss Molly" now!

Thank you to everyone who participated.  I really wish I could send everyone who entered a photo, but I can't.

This was a fun giveaway to do.  I think I'll do something similar again in the future.  Maybe next time I'll do an ocean/beach scene on canvas.  Landscape photography printed on canvas turns out as beautiful as a painting when properly done.  (And I have someone who does the most beautiful work!)

In the interest of keeping today light and breezy ....

Wait - does that sound like a feminine hygiene commercial?

Let me try again ...

In the interest of having a fun and easy Friday, I'm going to share some random photos from the week.  You might have seen some of these on Twitter and/or Instagram if you follow me in either of those places.

Random child playing on the beach.  

Why does it always touch my heart to see children playing on the beach?

(Well, except for the ones who run over my towel when I'm napping and kick sand in my face.  Those kids bug me.)

 

The sun breaking through the clouds at the end of yesterday's baseball game after a few "sprinkles" of rain.  I thought this photo came out so pretty considering it's just an iPhone photo.

We have a lot of lizards in Southern California.  I never think twice about them, but my recent house guests were surprised to see them.  (By the way, all lizards are not geckos and the above lizard is NOT a gecko.  The gecko/lizard confusion has been a big one since the Geico commercials began.)  This particular lizard tried to make a dash into our house, but I thwarted its efforts.

I have a "no lizards in the house" policy.  Well, except for my son's once-upon-a-time pet gecko which really was a gecko.  It was named Gecko (!) and we allowed it to live indoors in a terrarium for a short while before returning it to its natural habitat.  It ate crickets.  That is an entirely separate blog post.

South Orange County has some of the most expensive gas in California:

If my neighborhood wasn't so mountain-y-ish I'd be riding my bike everywhere I go.

I made a purchase for the house recently:

It's a new lamp (from Restoration Hardware) to replace a very old, and recently broken, lamp.  (My walls are not yellow even though they look yellow in the above photo.  I had a filter on my lens when I took the picture.) 

The old lamp broke accidentally when someone was playing:

He loves his giraffe.  

He loves his giraffe very, very, much.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Aaaand That's a Wrap!

Last Wednesday, I spent the day at the L.A. Convention Center soaking up photography related facts at a Kelby Seminar, sponsored by Adobe Photoshop.

In the evening, once the conference was over, I discovered a movie was in the process of being filmed right at the convention center.  Apparently, the director had waited until the end of the day to begin filming.  Technically, the center was closed.

I wanted to kill some time before fighting rush hour traffic so I decided to hang out and watch for awhile.  Mind you, I wasn't supposed to be there.  I was slinking around, trying to inconspicuously take a couple iPhone photos.  

When I first got out of the conference, I walked right into this:

A director-type guy asked if I could kindly go that way, so I would avoid the area where they were filming.  One of the actors decided he'd rather chat with me than have me disappear.  (I think he was bored waiting for the filming to begin.)  He asked me what type of conference I'd been attending.  He must have been a photo enthusiast because he became quite animated and wanted to know lots of details about my equipment.

Ha ha!  He wanted details about my equipment!

I have no idea who he was, but he was a charming, very hawt handsome, African American actor man.  I kind of wanted details about HIS equipment.

Where have all the hot men gone?

L.A., apparently ....!

I couldn't hang around because I was being glared at by the director-type guy, so I didn't have an opportunity to ask any questions of my own.  

Instead, I went downstairs to the lobby and hung out in a corner with a lot of the extras.  A short time later, the lobby filled with  a lot more actors and filming began.

Sorry for the poor quality of these photos.  It was dark-ish, because it was evening and raining outside.  I couldn't pull out my "real" camera or I would be thrown out in seconds flat.

From the above photo, it's easy to deduce they were filming an airport scene.  Luggage, women in old fashioned "stewardess" outfits, etc.

And then there's this ...

Nurses and a doctor.

Did the plane crash?

Why are they dressed in such an old fashioned manner?  But at the same time, the "extra" with the red luggage is in jeans and flats.  (The man behind her with the yellow tag on his shirt is one of the filming crew.)

Hmmmm?

Any ideas?

I'm left to wonder what the movie is about.

If any of you see a movie in the months to come and realize you're watching THIS movie, I hope you'll let me know.

I'm curious.

© Twenty Four At Heart

L.A. Tidbits

I hope today's post about the Kelby seminar last Wednesday doesn't make you snooze through your morning coffee!

I arrived a few minutes early in my attempt to avoid the worst of L.A. morning rush hour.  The morning light was fabulous, and I wished I had more time to take photos.

Sunrise in Los Angeles, taken from inside the convention center:

I was awed by the architecture of green glass and white steel in the huge lobby.

The above photo was taken from inside the lobby looking out, but it doesn't look much different from the outside looking in. 

This next photo was taken with me on my back, laying down in the middle of the lobby floor shooting the ceiling.  (Sorry it isn't centered better, but I had to take whatever spot I could get on the floor.)  People were talking to me and laughing as I took this photo.  

"You must be here for the photography convention, right?"

Right!

Can you see the windows at the very tip top?  (With the blue sky and clouds showing through?)  Well, later in the day, a storm rolled in and I took a close up shot of those same windows.  I wanted to emphasize the storminess of the late afternoon so I converted the photo to black and white.  

Pretty cool, huh?

The seminar was divided into five classes, with very short breaks between each one.  There were hundreds of people in attendance.  Here's a, not-so-great, snapshot taken during the meeting with my iPhone.  (The room was dark so we could see the projectors in the front of the room.)

For some reason there were mainly men at the seminar.  I was surprised.  Why aren't there more female photographers?

Also?  If you're a heterosexual woman (or gay man) looking to meet men ... start hanging out at photography workshops.

Personally, I could have spent all day just meeting the attendees.  Everyone I met had such fascinating stories.  I could have spent hours asking people what type of photography they do, how they got into it in the first place, etc.  It was fun to share photos too, and I was so impressed with the talented people I met.

Most of the time I was busy listening to the presentation(s) and occasionally jotting down a few notes.  The classes covered composition, shooting suggestions, photo formulas, fixing "problems" in Photoshop, and adding finishing touches in Photoshop.  

I made special notes throughout the day about any types of equipment, etc. which might make photography easier for me with my bum arm.

I was surprised to discover I already knew all the shooting/photography information covered in the morning sessions.  I did pick up helpful Photoshop techniques in the afternoon though.  

I really hate over-processed photos, and sometimes my photos don't look "real" even though if I haven't messed with the color (saturation or hue) in Photoshop.  In one session, they mentioned some of the flaws built into digital photography and how to correct them in Photoshop.  Those tips alone were worth the price of the entire seminar.

When the meetings ended, it was pouring outside.  Hence, I didn't take any photos of L.A. Live at night.  I'd love to return some other night though.  The neon lights, etc. would make for awesome night photography.

Next week I'll share with you the iPhone photos I took of the movie that was being filmed in the convention center at the end of the day.  Maybe with your help, we'll be able to figure out exactly what type of movie it was!  (I was hiding amongst the "extras" to take the photos I got!)

© Twenty Four At Heart

The Wild, Wild, West!

Yesterday, I mentioned we're total weather wimps here in Southern California.

Sure enough, those statements were followed by a big storm complete with hail.

Can you see it?

It's just a phone pic, so it may not be THAT visible - but it's real hail!

Very exciting stuff here in Orange County.

Before we move on from Saturday's exciting encounter with a bobcat, I wanted to share a couple other photos from that same hike.

I think the road into (or out of) the park is so pretty all on its own.

Also, did you know there are actually places here with creeks, and streams, and waterfalls?

Real running water that isn't the ocean, or coming out of a faucet ...

It was pretty shallow and mossy which is why it looks so green.

(The entire park was green, green, green ... and no, I did not adjust the intensity of the greens in any of the park photos.)

A few weeks ago, I shared a photo of the prickly pear cacti blooming.

Now they have fruit:

And yes, you can eat prickly pears.  I've had them myself before.  You do have to be very careful picking, handling, and preparing them though.

Otherwise?

Ouch!

© Twenty Four At Heart

Tigers, And Lions, And Bears ... Almost!

Southern Californians freak out about any type of "weather."  It can't be helped.  The local TV stations go crazy predicting end-of-the-world-doom and we all stand around wringing our hands, flipping out, because there might be wind, or rain, oh ... omigod snow!

I apologize on behalf of all of us.

On Saturday Briefcase and I listened to reports of a storm due to arrive the very next day.  We knew we had to get some type of adventure in immediately, because what if it rains and we never can leave the house again?

You think I'm joking, but I'm not.

We decided to hike around Aliso & Wood Canyons Park which is a bit inland from Laguna Beach.  The park has over 3,900 acres of nature to explore.  It also has the worst name ever for a park.

Everything was very green.  In fact, I don't think I've ever seen the park as green as it is right now.

We got a late start so we decided we'd hike to Cave Rock (which is not a super long hike, only a few miles).

As you can probably guess from the above photo, we made it.

Along the way, however, we had a few adventures.

First, we ran into deer.  

We see deer from our backyard, and in our community also.  Still, it takes my breath away to see them roaming around.  I know some of you will tell me they eat your flowers and ruin your gardens, but I love them anyway.

Just a few moments after seeing the deer in the above photo, I was startled by a bobcat crossing the path right in front of me.  He walked across the trail, kept looking back at me to see what I was doing, and then meandered into the deep grass away from us.

Again, my house backs up to a wilderness area.  I've seen bobcats before.  Being out in the middle of nowhere and having one that close, is different.  I didn't feel afraid of it, but please, oh, please, let me get a photo of you Mr. Bobcat!

He obliged.  

In fact, he seemed very curious about the sound of my shutter.

Then he walked away.

After he was gone, the following thoughts went through my head:

•  I'm glad he was a bobcat and not a mountain lion.

•  I'm glad Briefcase was with me and I wasn't alone.

•  What would Briefcase do if I was attacked by a mountain lion?

•  He couldn't do anything - we know someone who was eaten by one.

•  I should have brought my pepper spray.

•  Does pepper spray work on mountain lions?

•  I've seen a lot of bobcats, but THAT was a big bobcat!

Shortly after, we found ourselves exploring the caves at cave rock.

And then Briefcase reminded me we had a high school fundraiser we needed to go to and it was time to leave.  

I made a joke about leaving behind bobcats to embrace cougars.

The hike out of the park wasn't nearly as exciting as the hike in, but it was beautiful.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Happiness

It looks like it's pool time again!

© Twenty Four At Heart

My (so far) Favorite Apps

Not all of you have the same phone I do, but don't go running away quite yet.

A lot of the same apps I'm learning to love on my iPhone are available, or will be soon, on other phones too.

Several of my friends have recently purchased new phones and asked me to share with them which apps I find myself using the most.  Since I've had the same conversation four times in the last month, I thought I'd write my thoughts here.  Next time someone asks me what apps I like, I'll just send them a link.

Just kidding!

Of course, I always love to hear what other people like too.  I've found all my favorites from friends and readers.  

You people are the best!

I use the Twitter app a lot, Facebook less, and the Weather Channel at least once a day.  Go ahead and laugh at me about using the Weather Channel.  (I want to know if it's going to be in the 70's or 80's ... is that okay?)

I've, of course, tried a lot of photography apps.  I know Instagram is the trendy social media photo app right now, but it doesn't thrill me the way it seems to thrill everyone else.  I think it's great for sharing photos, but the photo quality doesn't do a whole lot for me.  Photo quality is important to an obsessive photo person like me.

So?

My favorite photography app right now is Camera+.  I love the ease of use with it, and I love the variety of filters, etc.  It was initially recommended to me by a Twitter friend who is a professional magazine photographer and editor.  It's the photo app I come back to most frequently.  (My second favorite is 100 Cameras.)

If you're new to photography and want a basic how-to guide, Photo Caddy might be a helpful app.  It gives tips, suggestions, and typical settings for different situations.  

The app I use the most every day, however, is a productivity app called Things.  Things is expensive as apps go (I think it was $9.00), but I live and breathe it - all day, every day.  Things is, so far, the best to-do list, get yourself organized, don't forget anything, app I've seen.  Are there better apps out there?  Maybe, but I haven't found them.  (I have, however, found several productivity apps which don't work as well for me.)

I've had an insanely busy few weeks and Things is the thing keeping me on track.

My two favorite music apps are Pandora and Shazam.  I don't think I need to explain those, do I?  (Maybe I do?)  Briefly, Pandora is like a personalized radio station in your pocket and Shazam identifies music and tells you what you're listening to.

My favorite vice app is Wine Ratings.  Oh, how I love this app.  I used it when BevMo recently had their five cent wine sale.  It's worth every penny if you like to try new wines and step out of your wine rut.

You ARE in a wine rut, aren't you?

(I knew you were!)

I keep a running grocery list on Grocery Gadget and do my grocery (and pharmacy) shopping off of it.  I no longer make a "regular" grocery list ... it's all done through this app.  I love using it when I'm out and about and suddenly remember I need something on my next trip to get groceries.  I add it to my Grocery Gadget list immediately because it's always with me.  (Fewer forgotten items means fewer trips to the store.) 

I'm really not that much of a game player, but when I'm waiting for PR to come out from baseball practice, or sitting in a waiting room somewhere I'll play them.  What am I playing?  Well, most of the time it's Angry Birds, Tiny Wings or DoodleJump.  Again, I don't play games enough to need a lot of them.

I find myself using Lifestyle apps a lot on the weekends.  I like Yelp, AroundMe, Wikihood, Where and YPmobile best.  They each have different strengths, and all of them have been valuable to me at different times.

FlightTrack is a must-have travel app if you, or someone in your family, travels by plane a lot.

Educational.  My dad spent his career working for NASA, which rubbed off on me a little.  I like both the NASA app and Star Walk.  I realize these are nerdy apps, and not everyone would be interested in them.

I have other apps I like a lot too, but the ones I've mentioned today are the ones I use the most on a day in, day out, basis. 

What am I missing?

What are your favorites, or the ones you rely on the most? 

I love hearing from you, because you have the BEST ideas!

© Twenty Four At Heart

Why I'm Fighting This Fight

I'm writing this while sitting outside on my patio.  I'm enjoying the beautiful weather, the mountain view, a cup of tea, and a few moments of quiet.  My retrievers are napping at my feet, happy to have me home.

Right now, my arm is covered with three large pain patches, which is the maximum number a person can safely wear, or so my doctor tells me.  (Twelve hours on followed by twelve hours off ... never to exceed three pain patches at a time.)  

My bionic arm is turned up to the highest frequency it's currently programmed for.  It's a frequency I rarely use because the high frequency, in and of itself, often hurts.  I've already taken prescription strength ibuprofen, a narcotic pain pill, and cocooned my shoulder in heat.

And still ...

The pain is breathtaking - awe inspiring really.

I've asked myself, more than once, the question I've recently heard from some of you.

Why am I doing this?

Why am I so determined to live my life behind a lens?

Why am I photographing a season of nonstop baseball games for a local high school?

Why do I do something I know will only cause me substantially more pain?

Why?

On Saturday, I was at the baseball field when a visitor stopped by to watch a portion of the game.  The visitor was a woman I knew from the local sports community before my car accident.  I also saw her during the first few months after my accident.  At the time, my life consisted of nothing more than surgery after surgery.  Since then, our lives have moved in different directions.  We've been out of touch for several years.

There she was though, stopping by to catch a few moments of a local high school game.  The first words out of her mouth when she saw me were, "You've got a camera in your hands again!"  She said this with a huge smile on her face, genuinely thrilled to think I'm able to resume this part of my life.  Photography, she knew, was a huge part of my life prior to the accident.

Her words echoed in my mind for the remainder of the day.  Memories rushed back of years, and years, and years of traipsing everywhere with my camera around my neck.  Recollections of the hundreds of baseball games I've attended over the years, all with my camera by my side, also came back to me.

I thought back to the day I received my current camera.  I didn't know if I'd be able to even hold it, but I bought it anyway.  I bought it because I knew if I did, I'd find a way to use it come hell or high water.

For the first time since the accident, I've realized the stubbornness determination which exists inside me.

I've also realized I'm capable of enduring more pain than most people have the ability to even conceive of.  The pain is always there, wanting to stop me in my tracks.  There are moments when it does, but then I forge on.  I do so, not because I'm strong or "inspirational," but because to do otherwise is unthinkable.

I've gained a new perspective on how much I hate being told I'm disabled and/or that I'll never be able to do certain things again.  Since the accident, I have refused to accept the words "can't," "don't," and "never again."  I hear these words.  I listen to them, I acknowledge them, and then I go about my life as if they were never spoken.

There are around one hundred people involved with the team I'll be photographing for the next several months.  Out of all those people, only two are aware there's anything "wrong" with me.  To everyone else, I'm a normal person.  I'm a photographer.  They don't know I'm "disabled."  They don't know the pain I live in, or the increased pain I experience when I use my camera.  

I wear long sleeved shirts to cover my scars and pain patches when I'm in public.  I've learned to use my left arm, and hand, in ways to make my motions seem normal even when they're not.

I'm a fake.  

I'm an impostor. 

And yet, it's a victory of sorts because they don't even know.

I'm fighting, daily, to have a semblance of the life I was "supposed to have" prior to the accident.  

Living my life the way I want to live it causes me increased pain.

But what kind of life would it be if I gave up the things I love?

What kind of life would it be if I let my pain, my injuries, my disability, dictate how I live my life?

And so yes, there are times when the pain is so intense - even I second guess my choices.

But it's a fight worth fighting ...

It's the life I was meant to lead.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Countdown to the Weekend!

PR had a great day celebrating his 16th birthday yesterday.

I'm shuttling my guests up to LAX airport today.  It's about an hour drive each way if there's no traffic.  There WILL be traffic so I imagine the errand will take several hours to complete.

(By the way, the guests had nothing to do with PR's birthday - the timing was pure, exhausting, coincidence.)

Tonight?

Tonight I plan to do nothing but enjoy a glass of wine and hang out on my couch.

To say I was overextended this week is an understatement.

Tomorrow is another baseball game to photograph.  (Number five for the week - egads!)

For now, I thought I'd just share with you this humor from the airport, which is currently undergoing some construction.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Knock, Knock??

Are you still there?

Thank you for your patience while I'm completely out of my mind this week busy for a few days.

Today is PR's 16th birthday!

He's the little one on the right.

Except?

He's not little anymore.  In fact, he's bigger than me.  (*sob*) 

My house guests leave Friday afternoon.

By Monday, I will (hopefully) be back to my normal routine.

Yesterday, I took my guests out to lunch in Laguna.

We had beautiful, perfect visiting-from-the-east-coast (never-been-to-California-before) weather!

The above shot was of my car thermometer as I was driving around Laguna.  My guests were in heaven!  (It was in the low 30's back at their home.) 

Here are a few shots from my afternoon.

My car GPS:

I've lived in California my whole life and I STILL think it's awesome to see all the blue showing up on my GPS indicating OCEAN!

Remember the flooding I wrote about back in December?

It washed out a portion of the boardwalk at Laguna Main.  They're rebuilding the damaged section now.  Do you think it's marked clearly enough?  Maybe they need a few more caution signs?  How much do you want to bet someone will still manage to fall off the boardwalk?

I'm in love, love, love, with the above photo.  (I'm crazy about the lens flare.)

Yes, I AM a photo geek - why do you ask?

Here's what my arm looked like yesterday:

Those are Lidoderm pain patches wallpapering my body.  Pretty?

I think it's safe to say, I shouldn't be photographing baseball games.  The lens I need to use is big and heavy.  The games can easily last three hours.  My pain level is currently off the charts after taking, (very poor), photos of just one game.  

I have another game to shoot this afternoon.

What the hell was I thinking with this official team photographer stuff?  Maybe the monopod I ordered will save me.  It should arrive for next week's games.

Will I ever accept just because I want to use my arm, doesn't mean I'm able to use it?

Denial is really an art form, isn't it?  

I seem to have perfected it.

One last Laguna Beach photo, via my phone ......

Ahhh ... it was such a beautiful day yesterday!

* Yes, this post was written under the influence of pain meds.  Did I make sense?

© Twenty Four At Heart 

Girls, Girls, Girls!

I'm sorry for the half-ass-ish-ness of this post.  (And possibly a few more posts to come.)

I'm crazy out-of-my-mind busy with house guests, PR's 16th birthday this Thursday, and a baseball tournament which accounts for FIVE games in a one week period.  

I could just NOT blog ... but that's sorta against my religion.

On the other hand, have I mentioned I love my iPhone?

I especially love the camera on it.

I hope you don't mind if I update you with iPhone photos until my life settles back into a normal routine.  

Last Friday night was Girl's Night Out.  

I got together with a couple girlfriends and went to a local Money Town bar.  The people watching was fantastic - there were plastic OC/Barbie women everywhere.  One woman, sitting in a booth near us, was particularly entertaining.  She had long, long, bleached-pure-white hair, all sorts of OC fakeness going on ... and her foot in her date's crotch all night.

It was good for a lot of giggles since the entire room was watching her elaborate foot action.

Of course it was too dark to get decent photos in the bar.  I forgot to bring my tiny Canon S95 camera (which takes excellent low light photos).  I'll try to go back to the same bar sometime soon - just so I can bring you pictures of some real (plastic) OC people.

My night began with a pomegranate martini:

I'm not a big drinker ... which is code for saying I get drunk on one drink.

But did I stop after ONE drink?

No, I did not ....

Cheers!

Drunk girlfriends:

They seem to be having a good time.

I had a good time too.

In fact, by the end of the evening I looked like this:

I should be embarrassed to show you the above photo, but hey ... it's not the first time I've humiliated myself by over sharing.  

(And I'm sure it won't be the last either!)

© Twenty Four At Heart

House Guests

I have people staying at my house for the next week which means I'm busy, busy, busy!

I also have a really bad migraine.

The migraine is tied to the very (!) bad pain flare up I'm experiencing.  (My neck/shoulder/upper back muscles get all spasm-y-ish as a result of my injuries and cause migraines sometimes.)  I attempted lifting something I shouldn't have over a week ago and my pain has been spiraling out of control ever since.  

In any case, I'm not in great shape right now ... and did I mention I have house guests?  (Very bad timing for a pain flare up.)

We had a beautiful weekend here though.

Absolutely beautiful .... 

Beach volleyball anyone?

I even got a little sunburned at the high school baseball game on Saturday.  It was 85F (29.4C).  I was way too hot in jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt.  I'll be at the baseball fields a lot over the next several months.  The spring baseball season has officially begun and there are five games this week alone.  

Have I mentioned I'm the team photographer?

THAT should be good for my arm, don't ya think?  

I just ordered a monopod and I'm hoping it helps.  I don't think I'd be able to do a season's worth of games otherwise.  (Baseball requires big, heavy, lenses.)  It will make things much easier on my bum arm.

Of course, not all the local kids are hanging out at the baseball fields.  You'll find a lot of them shopping here:

I thought you might also want to see one of my favorite little shopping centers.  It's in Crystal Cove (Newport Beach).

There are a couple great restaurants, a lot of shops, a Starbucks, etc. located in this center - all conveniently overlooking the Pacific.  There are days when I just like hanging out in the parking lot because the view is so nice.

When it comes right down to it though, I'd rather be ON the beach instead of just looking at it.

Breathtaking, isn't it?

© Twenty Four At Heart

Friday Randomness

I've been really busy lately.  The next ten days are going to be even busier (house guests).  I feel like I've got a lot of topics, and a lot of photos, to share.  I just haven't had much writing or photo editing time.

Here's a dose of randomness in honor of the upcoming weekend.

 

My car can only take premium gas.  Ouch!  It makes me want to cry!

This is Charlie, the basset hound.  He loves me.  I love him.  I especially love his soft ears and droopy eyes.  I met Charlie while out for a walk one day.  Believe it or not, one of my readers spotted me as I was just beginning my walk.  She introduced herself by saying, "I'm not a stalker, but ...."   We ended up walking a few miles together and she took the above photo.  (Thank you Cathy!)  By the way, Cathy is not the same person (at all!) as Pigtails from my recent post.

 

My pink pepper spray arrived!  Stalkers beware!

My new Twitter avatar.  

Of course, I Photoshopped out my wrinkles, wouldn't you?

A heron watching the traffic go by.  (The above photo was taken as I walked around the Mission Viejo lake - more MV lake photos in future posts.)

A bee caught mid-flight.  I love how he looks all fuzzy since my camera was focused on the flower.

My favorite sneakers drying after they once again got soaked by a wave.

Speaking of ...

I hope you have a great weekend!

© Twenty Four At Heart

The OC - It's Not All Beaches

* I'm sorry if the photo quality today doesn't seem as high as usual.  I've been having a number of my photos stolen lately.  I've decreased the resolution of recent posted photos as a result.  I hate to do that, but I feel like I've got no choice.  Photos will continue to be of the highest quality when purchased off my photo site. * 

I'm a total beach rat, which you clearly know by now.

I do enjoy other parts of The OC too, though.  I grew up in the mountains north of Los Angeles and I love hiking in mountains and canyons.

Last weekend, Briefcase and I decided to go out for a "non-beach" hike.  We brought our two retrievers.  

It was the day after a storm and temperatures were on the cold side.  After a day of rain, it felt wonderful to get outside and do some exploring.

As you can see, there was a dusting of snow on "my" mountains.  

The main trail in the particular area we chose to hike is paved.  People ride bikes, walk, and jog along the paved trail.  There are a lot of smaller trails which shoot off in various directions.  The smaller trails are dirt and rock paths.  

It didn't take long for us to venture off onto the smaller trails.

We almost immediately ran across signs of storm damage.

(The color/saturation in the above photo hasn't been touched in Photoshop at all, it really was very, very, GREEN!)

There's a creek nearby too.  Most of the time it's nothing more than a dry creek bed.  After storms sometimes there's a little water running in it.  I've never seen it like this before:

 

The water was muddy, but in some areas there were white caps.  It was *almost* like a real river.  Amazing!

I got a lot of great photos, most of which aren't in this post.  Why is that?  Sometimes I baffle even myself.  Here's one of my favorites though:

There's nothing like a hike, a creek to splash in, and MUD to make me my dogs happy.

I put the next photo out on Twitter last weekend, but I'm going to post it here too.  

See?

Dogs DO smile!

(And for those of you who love my chocolate lab and wish I'd shown a picture of her too ....  Mocha was happily chasing rabbits down trails and not cooperating for a photo!)

© Twenty Four At Heart

How to Lose a Reader in One Pedicure

If you've been a reader for a long time, maybe you think I don't stick my foot in my mouth as much as I used to.  (I do!)  Maybe you even think I've stopped embarrassing myself on a regular basis.  (I haven't!)

Maybe you've also noticed I'm not as snarky lately. 

I used to make fun of OC people a lot, but now it seems like a lot of them are reading what I write about them.  It makes me feel ... censored.  It kind of takes the fun out of it when I know they're lurking about.

Also?

It's a lot easier to make fun of people when you don't know them.  Most people, no matter how odd they might be, end up being nice once you get to know them.

That being said ....

About two weeks ago I stopped into a Money Town nail salon for a much needed pedicure.  Before you say, "How OC of you!" I'd just like to point out it's not easy to clip your own toenails with your non-dominant hand.  Go ahead, try it.

(And yes, I DID just pull out the I've only got one working arm card to justify getting pedicures.)

In any case, I had been at the salon for awhile when a woman arrived and I began snarky-tweeting about her.  I couldn't resist.  She was approximately 48 years old.  She arrived in The OC Woman Uniform of skin tight clothes, lots of exposed man-made cleavage, and her face botoxed into an unmovable object.  I've taken up the hobby of analyzing what plastic surgery people have had ... and this woman?

Well, a better question would be what part of her was remotely real?

So there I was, soaking my feet and relaxing in a massaging chair while snarky-tweeting.  The OC woman was seated in the massaging chair next to me, reading.  Twitter was telling me to take a picture of her.  They especially wanted to see her PIGTAILS.

Yes, PIGTAILS!!

Who wears pigtails when they're 48 years old?

And no, it wasn't like she'd just come from the pool/beach/gym.  It would make (some?) sense if that had been the case.

No, she was dressed all-out to attract an OC man.  Her outfit included high heels and blinged out jewelry - but then ... pigtails!

And not only did she have two, short, sticking-straight-out-like-a-little-girl's-pigtails, she had big RIBBONS on each pigtail.

What the hell?

Do OC men have fantasies about 48 year old women with high heels and pigtails and ribbons?  (Dear Gawd, don't answer and please pass the mind bleach!)

I distinctly remember the last time I wore my hair in a similar fashion.  I was in seventh grade which means I was 12 years old.  My best friend and I wore our hair in sticking straight out of our head pigtails with big huge ribbons to be intentionally ridiculous for "twin day" at school.

I was not 48 years old, in high heels, and wearing tons of man-made cleavage topped with pigtails and big fat ribbons in my hair.

Anyway, the women was also loudly insisting the salon use "Oh!-pee!" nail polish on her toes.  What she wanted to request, of course, was OPI (oh-pee-eye) nail polish.  This made me snicker and think I'm a way superior person.  

Of course I am ... because really - OH!-PEE! nail polish?

My toes were nearly done drying when the woman who gave me the pedicure (who did not speak English very well) began looking at the tattoo just above my ankle.

"Tw-en-ty Four!" she sounded out triumphantly, and then looked at me questioningly.

Before I could even consider explaining why I have the words "Twenty Four" and a heart tattooed on my leg, I realized I had the sudden and total attention of the pigtailed woman sitting next to me.

Did you ever see The Exorcist?

With the head spinning on the shoulders thing?

Yeah, THAT.

She stared at my tattoo, she stared at me, she began texting and/or tweeting frantically on her phone.  It became immediately clear she recognized me.

Oops?!

I began concentrating intently on my toes.

"I know you," she said.

I smiled demurely and looked away.

What?  You don't believe me?

I can be demure if I try.

"I follow you on Twitter," she said.  "I've read your blog several times!"

"Uh oh!" I thought.  "Not anymore ...."

I almost tweeted, "Oh shit, Pigtails follows me on Twitter!" but I didn't.

"Do you have a sense of humor?" I questioned, smiling.

"Yes ...?" she replied warily.

I nodded.

"That's good," I said.

And then ...

As quickly as I could, I left.

© Twenty Four At Heart 

Freaky-Scary-Man!

To start with, I have to be honest and tell you I'm writing this on two hours of sleep and after having taken half of a pain pill.  (I only took half, not because I don't need three a whole one, but because I'm stubborn and I don't want to take them.)

This post may make no sense.  For instance, commas are suddenly baffling.  I'm definitely not thinking my clearest right now, and it's more a result of my lack of sleep than the pain meds.  

See?  I don't think that last sentence made any sense at all.

Yesterday, I told you about going to the beach at what I thought was the tail end of a storm.  I ended up getting knocked into the cold ocean by a wayward wave.  I was soaking wet and freezing in the cold wind.  Nonetheless, I was incredibly relieved to discover my camera hadn't been ruined.

Once I realized my camera still worked (!), I decided to stay and take "just one or two" photos.  Yes, I'm out of my mind crazy.  I was shivering, but I stayed.  We don't get storms here very often and oh, the clouds!  And the sky!  And the shifting patterns of light!

It was a photography challenge, and an amazing opportunity, for someone like me who's used to nothing but lots of sunshine. 

Over the course of the next hour or two, during which time I was colder than I think I've ever been in my life, I had several unexpected adventures.  

(I should also probably mention, during that same time period, the weather was at times sunny, rainy, clear, cloudy, menacing, extremely DARK, and extremely BRIGHT.  It was always windy, however, and I had cold wet clothes on.  Brrrr!!)

•  I met several nice people who approached me to chat.  Some of them had photography questions, some of them thought I was a reporter, some of them probably just wanted to know what was up with the woman with the big camera and wet clothes.  (Waving now to the nice man from Ohio who took one of my cards!)

For awhile, I had pretty nice photography conditions (other than the freezing wind) and got several great shots.

It looks almost prehistoric, doesn't it?

•  A second stage of the storm rolled in suddenly.  The waves were whipped into a frenzy, the wind howled, rain poured from the sky and I took refuge in a small cave.  My camera got wet (again!) from the rain, but I put it under my shirt as I ran for the cave.  I've got to give kudos to Canon for building a camera capable of surviving ME.

(This is a partial view from the cave during a calm period in the storm.  I didn't take any photos when I was hiding in there and it was pouring, but I probably should have.)

•  After about an hour of shooting photos, a strange and scary man (who had a woman with him!) approached me and would not leave me alone.  He kept appearing out of nowhere by my side, and wouldn't leave.  He talked incessantly.  At first, I thought he was harmless.  

Then?  

Then I saw the crazy in his eyes.  

And I do mean crazy!  

He wouldn't let me out of his sight.  He followed me for at least thirty minutes, and did I mention he was really scaring me?  By the time I was approaching terrified, the rain was really coming down and the beach was nearly empty.  I had wandered far from my car - and well, far from everything.  

I was on a stretch of rainy beach with no one in sight and Freaky-Scary-Man was stalking me.

In my mind, I quickly decided Freaky-Scary-Man was a serial killer in one of those weird, twisted, psycho-dependent relationships with the woman who kept tagging along several feet behind him.  I decided she must be either his prisoner or his co-serial killer.

(Perhaps I've watched too many episodes of Criminal Minds?)

In time, I saw another man about a quarter mile down the beach.  I practically sprinted, in my wet squishy shoes, to where he was.  

A little out of breath I asked, "Can I talk to you?"  

He was nice.  He was around thirty years old.  I explained I was being stalked by Freaky-Scary-Man.  We ended up chatting for quite awhile.  He asked me a lot of photography questions.  (My camera must look very official because everyone always wants to talk about it and/or photography.)  Nice-Man walked me to my car and I was grateful because Freaky-Scary-Man was still in the distance just watching.

Have I ever mentioned it's almost never boring to be around me?

Have I also ever mentioned I can attract a pervert from a hundred miles away?

Because I can.  

And I do!

But it worked out okay.  

I got some amazing photos in so many different types of light.

I came home, took a hot shower, got into dry clothes, wrapped myself in a blanket by the fireplace and sipped on some hot tea.  It took me a good two hours to feel warm again.

Can you see the rain falling from the clouds on the horizon?

It arrived quickly and it soaked me through and through, but it was SO worth it!

© Twenty Four At Heart

Saturday Afternoon

Last Saturday, I had some errands to do not far from the beach.  On a whim, I tossed my camera into the car prior to leaving.  (And no, I don't normally take my camera with me on errands.)

We had a storm the night before, and I was hoping to catch some lingering clouds over the ocean.  I love the ocean during a storm.  I knew the waves would be big and the beach mostly deserted.

It was late afternoon when I pulled into the parking lot of one of my favorite beaches.  The instant I stepped out of the car, I regretted not being better prepared.  The wind was whipping furiously and bitter cold.

OK, so bitter cold for me means the temperature was in the 50's (13C).  I know nothing about wind chill factors, but it felt like ... FREEZING.  I was wearing my usual legging type (skin-tight, no warmth to them) work out pants, a thin long sleeved t-shirt, and a flannel shirt tied around my waist.  I wasn't dressed adequately.

Wind ... really cold wind!

I eyed the clouds warily.  It looked like the second wave of the storm was headed my way and I hadn't thought to bring the "rain gear" I have for my camera.  I am, after all, from Southern California where it rarely rains.  Yes, I have protective rain gear for my camera - but no, I've never once needed to use it.

The waves were in a fury and I felt exhilarated.

Angry waves, whipping wind, a chill that would wake up the dead ....

I couldn't wait!

I walked to the beach.  As I walked, I assessed the light.  To be honest, I was in a bit of a quandary.  One moment the sun would be out and the clouds would part showing clear blue, sky.  The next moment it would be dark from the storm clouds, with conditions rivaling night photography.  I stood back, out of reach of the waves, and began moving camera dials.

It was a bit of a challenge.

I thought I had my settings correct but before I could snap a single photo, the lighting conditions vastly changed.   I stared at my camera dials, hesitating.  

All of a sudden, with no warning, I was flat on my ass in the freezing cold Pacific.

And oh yes, I did have my Canon 7D in my hands at the time.

"Shit!" I exclaimed as I hoisted my camera above my head.

Never mind getting soaked, never mind looking like an ocean novice, never mind the sand pouring into every crevice of my body ...

Saving the camera was urgently important.

The wave began receding and I scrambled up, frantically drying my camera with my hair.

"Damn, damn, damn," I muttered to myself.

I know better.

You never turn your back on the ocean, especially in a storm.  The ocean deserves your utmost respect.  If you disrespect her, the error of your ways will be shown to you swiftly and forcefully.  

I had been standing far out of the reach of the waves, or so I thought.  Storm waves are not regular waves.  A stormy ocean is an unpredictable one.

I know better, I know better, I know better!

Ahhh ... and now I was beyond cold.

The wind whipped around my wet, chilled body.

My clothes were glued to me with nothing but salt and sand between the fabric and my skin.  My teeth chattered, and my shoes squished out sea water with every step I took.

I glanced toward the parking lot.  

Clearly, I needed to leave without taking a single shot.

I looked at my camera.

I brought it to my eye.

Would it still work?

Happily, the answer is yes.

© Twenty Four At Heart

President's Day Weekend

Today is a holiday in the United States.  I know a lot of you don't live in the U.S., but I'm using it as an excuse to be a little bit lazy.

I had all sorts of interesting things happen over the weekend.  I can't wait to tell you all about them, but I'm going to hold off since I know a lot of people are off playing today and won't be here to visit.

Today, (out of the pure laziness I just mentioned), I'm just going to share a few miscellaneous photos I've taken in the last few days.  

In other words, it's just like any other day around here!

Storm clouds - taken with my iPhone.

(By the way, if you're on Instagram my user name is 24atHeart.  I have almost no followers yet, so pleeeeeeeaaaaaaase be my friend!)

The DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles for you non-U.S. people.)  It's sort of like a torture chamber.  Also, did I mention PR now has his official Driver's LEARNING permit?  (Not to be confused with his actual driver's license.)  I feel OLD!  And yes, the DMV photo was ALSO taken with my iPhone ... I'm having fun playing with my new toy.

 

Tulips blooming - possibly my favorite flower.  At least, they seem to be my favorite flower this week.

Very ominous clouds approaching!  This was taken from my backyard.  On the right hand side of the photo you can see the wrought iron spiral staircase which leads up to our deck.

The love note I left for Briefcase.  

Don't get me wrong, I've cleaned up a lot of dog barf over the years.  In this case, Briefcase let our golden retriever eat something he shouldn't have so I let him be in charge of clean-up duties.  I'm a loving wife like that!

The snow is a result of the ominous clouds I showed you in a previous photo.

We've had all sorts of craziness with our weather the last few days.  The above photo is of "my" mountain as seen from our backyard on Sunday morning.  I get so excited when our mountains get snow.  They're at a much lower elevation than the Los Angeles (San Gabriel) mountains so it doesn't happen very often.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Catalina Island at Sunset

I took this photo of Catalina Island a few weeks ago.  We were having night after night of spectacular sunsets.  I love looking out from "my" Orange County beaches knowing Catalina is right there.

Catalina Island is a special place.  It holds a lot of wonderful memories for me.

© Twenty Four At Heart

(Little) Corona

I feel like a tour guide on my blog lately.

I apologize.  I'll stop with the virtual tours soon.

(But not today.)

Last Sunday, I spent the morning at Little Corona.  Little Corona is a beach in Corona del Mar, in Newport Beach, and should not be confused with Big Corona.  The two beaches are vastly different.

If you don't live in Orange County, Little Corona is a great beach to see as a visitor.  It's very scenic and people "ooh!" and "aahh!" a lot when they visit for the first time.

On Sunday, there was a very loud seal sunning itself on the rocks.  It would not stop aarfing.  Aaarf!  Aaarf!  I would have brought you a picture of him, but he blended in so well with the rock he was on, I don't think it would have turned out very well.

Aarf!  Aarf!

(I used to pretend to be a seal when I swam in the ocean as a kid.  Don't tell anyone, okay?)

I'll have to re-visit Little Corona for better photographs.  When I visited on Sunday it was hot.  The sun was brutal from a photography standpoint.  Of course, I was more concerned with walking off the previous night's dinner than I was with photography on this particular visit.

Nonetheless, I couldn't resist snapping a few sun-drenched photos anyway.  Here's what the beach looks like from the street before you make your descent:

Did I mention sun-drenched, washed out photos?  

Little Corona is a rocky beach and the tide was out for most of my recent visit, exposing even more rockiness than usual.  Tidepooling is fantastic at Little Corona just as long as you remember to look and not touch.  (And yes, I AM protective of our beaches.)

Can you see the pelicans perched on the farthest rock?  

There are sandy areas of beach too at Little Corona, even when the tide is out.  

I love the beach, have I ever mentioned that?

Splash!

Oh wait, I need to show you one more photo.

Rocks can be pretty!

Lots of little critters live in the holes of the ocean rocks.

Can you believe how many pelicans are hanging out on top of the rocks?

They just stared at me and then went right on about their pelican business.  (Swallowing fish whole, ruffling their big pelican feathers and occasionally talking to their friends.)

I think I interrupted a pelican party.

© Twenty Four At Heart 

Hollywood, Take Two

I wanted to share a few more glimpses of my day in Hollywood with you.  I know many of you live too far away to ever have the opportunity to visit.  (I also want to apologize ahead of time for the quality of today's photos ... the sun was really harsh making decent photos impossible extremely difficult.)

When I arrived in Hollywood, I parked near the Kodak Theatre.

If you've watched the Academy Awards in the last ten years, you probably know the event is held in the Kodak Theatre.  (American Idol finals have also been held at the Kodak Theatre too, along with many other famous events.)

After traipsing around the Kodak Theatre for awhile, I walked down Hollywood Blvd.  

If you pull out your magnifying glass, you will see the following in the above photo:  both the good and bad Spiderman, the sidewalk stars of Nicole Kidman, Steven Spielberg, Halle Berry, Jamie Foxx, and Susan Sarandon.  

Good Spiderman was quite chatty with me, by the way.  I always seem to attract men who are a little "different."

My next stop was Grauman's Chinese Theatre which opened in 1927.  (Do I sound like a tour guide yet?)

I'm pretty immune to the celebrity-thing, having grown up here.  Nonetheless, it's still a lot of fun to wander around the Forecourt to the Stars and look at the hand/footprints of the famous.

From the city, the Hollywood sign looks like this:

As I mentioned last weekend, there's a "secret" hiking trail to reach the sign.  The view on the trail, looking back towards Los Angeles is pretty on a clear day.

Hollywood Blvd. is pure craziness.  The people watching could not be better.  Then you get up on the trail, and you feel like you've stepped back in time.  It's quiet and serene.  You run into other people hiking now and again, but (at least on a weekday) it isn't crowded at all.  It really was nice.

Also?

When you get close to it, you realize how HUGE the Hollywood sign really is.

It's gigantic!

© Twenty Four At Heart

Valentine's 2011

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you!

I have to admit, Valentine's isn't my favorite holiday.  It isn't, however, my least favorite holiday either.  (My least favorite holiday is New Year's Eve.)

Briefcase is out of town on business today, so we celebrated over the weekend.

First, on Saturday afternoon we checked into the Fairmont hotel in Newport Beach.  I had bought a Groupon for a discounted rate at the Fairmont and given it to Briefcase as a gift at Christmas time.  In turn, he saved it and booked the room for Valentine's weekend. 

We enjoyed dinner at my favorite restaurant, Mastros.  Mastros is very (!!) expensive, so we usually only visit once in a great while for special occasions.  (And no, we don't normally consider Valentine's Day Mastros-worthy.)  By expensive, I mean it is easy to drop $300 on dinner for two ... without even purchasing a bottle of wine.  

In fact, Mastros has a $7,400 bottle of wine on their menu if you feel like splurging.

Many locals consider Mastros the best restaurant in Orange County.  In fact, there are actually two Mastros here (one is a steakhouse and the other is an "ocean club").  And oh, how I love to people-watch every time we make a visit to either one of them!

We began our meal with martinis and a Seafood Tower.  By the way, the martinis at Mastros will set you back about $18 a pop, but they bring a martini shaker to your table for refills and "one" drink ends up generously providing you with, at least, TWO martinis.

Being a total lightweight with alcohol, I was more than a little tipsy.

(The above photo was taken with my iPhone.)

I love the presentation of the Seafood Tower.

You pick what you'd like in the tower, and it's served to you on ice and dry ice which creates an amazing, dramatic, effect.  Our tower was small because there were only two of us to share it.  It was made up of a half dozen oysters, two large prawns and two crab claws.  It was a perfect appetizer.  In fact, we enjoyed it so much, we will probably return at some point and make a "dinner" out of cocktails and a slightly larger tower.  Really, it would be plenty of food to make a meal of just that.

Dinner consisted of a salad - which we shared, a bone in filet, and sauteed spinach.  Portions are large at Mastros so we always share sides and salads.  Briefcase ordered a much bigger steak than I did, but we both agreed Mastros serves the most delicious steaks we've ever enjoyed.  Service, as always, was impeccable.  As we were delighting in our dinner, live music was playing.  It made for a very nice evening.

For dessert, we decided to indulge in Mastros famous Butter Cake which is to die for.  We shared the dessert and didn't come close to finishing it.  Yes, I felt guilty for splurging on a carb-laden dessert, but have I mentioned we rarely get a night at Mastros?  If there's ever a time to fall off your diet, it's when you're there.  

After dinner, we watched Burlesque which we both enjoyed.  I had been wanting to see it and was worried it would bore Briefcase to death.  However, the movie is filled with scantily clad women shaking their stuff.  He was anything but bored.  I think riveted might be a better word.

On Sunday morning, we left the hotel and enjoyed a fairly quick breakfast.

At that point, it seemed like a good time to enjoy the beautiful day.  We were close to Little Corona, so we stopped in for some beach time.

I'll have more pictures of Little Corona in future posts, but suffice it to say it was a spectacular, warm, sunshine-y day.  We walked and hiked for a long time.  What a wonderful way to end the weekend.

© Twenty Four At Heart 

An Early Valentine's Celebration

Last night, I spent the night here:

It's the Fairmont Hotel in Newport Beach.

Briefcase booked a night here as an early Valentine's celebration.

I'll have more (but not all) of the details for you soon.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Hollywood!

I grew up just north of Los Angeles, not far from Hollywood.

I rarely did tourist-y things, because when you live somewhere you avoid the tourists.

I've been in Hollywood for things I've needed to do over the years, but I hadn't made a trip to the tourist-y spots of Hollywood in years.

Yesterday, that changed.

Aren't I looking just spectacular with my windblown hair?  We've had warm weather lately, but the heat has been accompanied by Santa Ana winds.  (For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Santa Anas, they often reach hurricane force - particularly in our canyons and foothills.)

Almost as soon as I arrived, I ran into a camera man who was filming in a local mall.  He was losing his patience with the people he was filming.  I couldn't resist taking his photo.  All the tourists were looking at what he was filming, and I was looking at him.

I don't know what it is about The Camera Man Photo, but I love it.

Here's another very "Hollywood" photo of The Walk of Fame:

It seemed like everywhere I turned, there were people trying to make a buck.  A lot of times, they were just street people.  Of course, there are a lot of gift and souvenir shops too.  

I've got more to share with you about my adventures in Hollywood in upcoming days.  It was a loooooooong day (primarily because of the amount of driving time it took to get up there and back).  

I took a lot of photos too, which makes for a very painful bionic arm.  

I'll leave you with one more glimpse of my day before I close.

After all, today's post wouldn't be complete without Marilyn, would it?

© Twenty Four At Heart

Leaving The Bubble

I'm not here today.

I've decided to leave "the bubble" for the day.

And yes, a lot of us do refer to Orange County as "the bubble."  (A bubble of unreality.)

I'm leaving this:

And this:

And this:

To do a lot of sitting in this:

Ugh!

Yes, I'm spending the day in Los Angeles on a photography outing.

The thing is ....

When outings like this are planned, they often end up being very different experiences than what was initially expected.  I'll have details of what really happens tomorrow.  (You can also follow updates from me on Twitter today.)

In the meantime, let's hope I don't end up in four hours of traffic on my way home at the end of the day.  There aren't many things I hate more than L.A. traffic.

© Twenty Four At Heart 

From The Deck

The upstairs deck off the back of our house provides unbelievable views of our canyon.

My dogs can stay up there for hours watching for wildlife.

[Wildlife equals:  birds (including hawks, quail, vultures, ducks and owls), rabbits, deer, bobcats, coyotes, snakes, squirrels and an occasional mountain lion.]

I can too!

© Twenty Four At Heart

Deja Vu?

A few months ago, I rose early one morning.  I cleaned my lenses, packed my camera and drove to one of my favorite, secret, secluded beaches.

The beach was deserted.

It was a beautiful, spectacular, morning.

I was thrilled to have the beach to myself, but not surprised.  It was early in the day still, and it was off-season.

I took a leisurely walk down the beach, snapping photos as I went.

After quite awhile, I turned around and walked back in the direction I came from.

And that's when I first saw him.

From a distance he was no more than a mere speck of red, sitting on some rocks out on the point.

"Annoying," I thought.

How dare he show up and ruin my solitude.

I walked toward him, because my final destination was the cove on the other side of the point.

As I approached, I knew he was as aware of my presence as I was of his - and yet, he ignored me. 

He sat there, taking in the beauty of the morning, with a cup of coffee in his hand.

I crossed the path behind him on my way to the cove.

"Beautiful morning," I said because I felt I had to say something.

"It really is," he agreed, still not looking in my direction.

And then, when I had taken one step past him, he asked, "Where are you going?"

I turned to face him.

At the same moment, he stood.

Our eyes met.

I've thought about that moment over and over again.

What happened next made no sense.  

Recognition.

Surprise.

I felt startled ... stunned, actually.  

He had a similar reaction.

He actually took a step backward, as if in shock.

"It's you!" my brain seemed to scream, but instead I just stared at him wide-eyed.

And then, we were talking ... making inane small talk.

I'm going to the cove.

You're a photographer?

I write about, and photograph, The OC. 

Do you live here?

Yes, right there ... (with a wave of his hand towards the homes on the sand).

It wasn't physical attraction.  

It wasn't romantic. 

It wasn't sexual.

It was unexplainable recognition of a total stranger, and it was so strong it was almost frightening.  There was no question we were both experiencing the same sense of overwhelming familiarity.

"I know him, but I've never met him.  This doesn't make sense," I thought.

But at the same time, for some reason - it did.

After a few minutes, I went on my way.  

I felt shaken and disconcerted by the encounter.

I hiked to the cove. 

I began shooting photo after photo.  Rocks, tide pools, waves, the bluffs ... click, click, click went the shutter.  With each photo I wandered a little further down the beach.

About twenty minutes went by.

I knew, before I looked up.  

I could feel him watching me.

I turned back, towards the point ... now fairly far away from where I was.

He stood there at the tip of the rocks.

Facing me.

Riveted.

He was wondering who I was, just like I was wondering who he was.

We stood there, staring across the distance, for a few minutes.

I turned away first.  Raising my camera to my eye, I began shooting again.

In time, I made my way back up to the point.  It was time to head home.

He was gone.

My eyes searched the houses ... one of which, is his home.

"Who are you?" I whispered.

All these months later ...

I still find myself wondering.

© Twenty Four At Heart 

Vroom! Vroom!

First of all, I want to update you on yesterday's post.  I saw my doc yesterday morning and he concluded I'm sick.  (Thanks doc!)  I think the rattling in my chest, when I attempt to breathe, gave me away.  He has me on TWO antibiotics.  I've never been prescribed two antibiotics simultaneously before.  Ever.  He said my lungs are so infected, he didn't think any "one" antibiotic could cover the "full spectrum" I need.   

Whatever that means.

When I was waiting to see the doc I sent out this tweet:

Sitting in the docs waiting room w a bunch of sick people. Hope I don't catch anything. Oh, wait ...

In any case, hopefully I'll be rebounding quickly now that my body is getting flooded with germ killing antibodies.

Let's hope.

(Nike's currently on her THIRD attempt at antibiotics in an attempt to recover from The.Sickness.From.Hell.  She and I?  We're quite the pair right now!)

Now, on to today's topic ...

Cars.

Cars?

Yes, cars!

And don't worry - I (hopefully) won't bore you - I'm somewhat inappropriate even when the topic is cars.  I can't seem to help myself.

People in Southern California are obsessed with their cars.  Some people argue it's because the traffic is so bad here, we practically live in our cars - making them more important to us.  People eat, sleep, have sex, do their make-up, read, shave, text, talk on the phone, parent, argue and do everything else imaginable while "driving" here.  We take the term "distracted driver" to a whole new level.

Sadly, in Orange County (particularly South Orange County) I think the biggest reason cars are so important is the Status Factor.  Luxury cars, preferrably with personalized license plates, are the rule rather than the exception here. 

Mercedes, BMWs, Land Rovers, Maseratis, Lamborghinis, Bentleys, Jaguars, Audis, Porsches, etc., are a dime a dozen.  They're all so common, I don't even really see them anymore.  (The exception being when I see teens driving them.  That still makes me want to vomit profusely.  What is wrong with OC parents?  Why do they think they need to gift their 16 year old with an $80,000 car?)

However, I do notice all the luxury cars when I've been away from the OC and then return.

"Oh look," I think.  "The Land of Luxury Vehicles again."

All the expensive cars become pretty boring, actually.  The excitement comes when you see an old beat up clunker.  Now THAT'S unusual here!

The other day I was on the freeway when this 1960 Corvette passed me:

That's the other thing about this area.

The really rich?

Well, for them a luxury car, or two, or ten, is not enough.  A lot of people around here collect classic cars. 

Sure, this being Southern California, some classic cars look like this:

They compete with other cars like this:

I want you to know, all of these car photos were taken in less than a millisecond.  I'd see a car passing by and "click" with no time to make camera adjustments.  (In my mind, that's the difference between a snapshot and a photograph.)

There are also way too many of the I-Have-A-Small-Dick-And-Need-To-Compensate-For-It cars.

Now, I want to apologize upfront to any of you out there who drive a Lamborghini and have a big dick.  Or for that matter, even an average sized dick.  Clearly, I'm not referring to you with my generalization.

I took all of these car photos in one afternoon when I went out shooting for two hours.  (As in shooting photos, not shooting guns.)  If I'd actually been concentrating on cars as photo objects, I probably would have come back with many more examples to share with you.

Still, considering the car photos were a mere afterthought, I came away with at least one shot I was really proud of. 

Even I, a non-car person, thought this one was a beauty.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Summer in January

* Some of you have asked me diet related questions.  I know it's not a topic everyone is interested in, but enough people have asked, so I'll share some of my thoughts in tomorrow's post.  I hope you'll stop by! *

We continue to have a very warm January.

I know it probably won't carry into February and March, so I plan to enjoy it while I can.

The beaches haven't been too crowded, because ... well, it's winter.

I'm not the only one enjoying the warm weather though.

I love this photo of the barefoot painter, with PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) visible in the background.  When he was done painting he had to haul his easel, canvas and paints up a lot of steps.  

He didn't complain.  (I was huffing and puffing right behind him with my very heavy camera gear.)

Earlier in the day, I came across this:

Tasty?

All his relatives were already here:

It must be a tough life, being a crab.  You never know when you'll end up being served as dinner at a restaurant.  If not a restaurant, you have to worry about get swooped up unexpectantly for someone else's dinner.

© Twenty Four At Heart  

A Glimpse of ...?

I was gone every single moment of yesterday. 

It began with sitting naked in a steam room.  Steam rooms are one of the most relaxing things in the world to me.  (Saunas are okay, but I love steam rooms!)  It was followed by 75 minutes of bliss as I was wrapped in heated blankets, steaming eucalyptus leaves, and massaged from head to foot.

Yes, the massage was a little tricky with my arm/internal wires/neurostimulator.  But?  It was doable, and my muscles were so tight and knotted in spasms, I needed it done.  That's a more factual statement than you might think.  I can't move my arm or surrounding muscles on my own, I actually need someone else to move them for me.  

Did it help my pain?  No, it didn't.  It made it worse.  I'm in a very bad pain fog right now. (!!)  I know it would be even more intense without the bionics in my arm.

I keep reminding myself of that - it would be worse without the neurostimulator.  But when pain gets to a certain level it almost doesn't matter.  It's just BAD.  Impossible to think, to think clearly ... to function normally.

It's my first bad flare-up since I was implanted with the neurostimulator.  It will get better in time.

I don't think I realized how very stressed I've been until I felt some of that stress melting away at the spa.  Have I mentioned, at least a million times, it's been a tough few weeks?

My next stop was at a waxing salon where I gasped as a smiling esthetician ripped out my cooter hairs.  I left the salon completely bald.  (By the way, the salon is currently selling gift cards and their slogan is, "Give the gift of baldness!")  The salon was packed.  Orange County women are hairless.

My next stop was the Fat Farm to be weighed in.  I lost another pound.  Go me! 

Then I stopped home long enough to shower, change, and head out to a high school baseball parent meeting for the night.  I came home with four baseball sweatshirts.  (Go team!)  

Fun times?

Since all that running around didn't leave me much time for writing, I thought I'd share a couple very random photos today. 

This first photo reminds me of college.  I went to UC Santa Barbara which sits right on a bluff overlooking the ocean.  The main form of transportation there is by bike.  This also seems to be the case in Huntington Beach:

I love the blown out look of the above photo.  (Yes, I made it look like that intentionally!)

The center of a gerber daisy:

You don't see many people like this in The OC:

Buckets of flowers:

And, of course, I need to close with the ocean - because it is a part of me.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Surf City, Here We Come!

I'm in Huntington Beach frequently, and yet still, I find myself humming the song Surf City every time I'm there.

I don't usually go to Huntington when I want beach time.  I prefer the more remote, quiet beaches.  Huntington Beach is where Big.Events are held and tourists flock.  I do find myself in the city for various business needs quite often though.  Last Saturday, I took my camera along so I could share my day in Surf City with you.

To start with, it was a beautiful day.

As you can see, it wasn't too crowded by Southern California beach standards.

As always, there were numerous games of beach volleyball taking place.  I was very interested in watching the games, of course.

(Cougar?  Did someone call me a cougar?)

I decided to break some photography rules and take photos directly into the sun.  Maybe I thought you'd like to see crappy photos?  Also, even though they aren't photographically-correct photos, they do give you a good feel for how things looked to me with the sun glaring in my eyes.

This is Main Street where the cute tourists shops and restaurants are.  I took this as I was walking down to the beach.

All of you photographer types now are judging the lens flare, aren't you?

I kept walking, crossed PCH (the famed Pacific Coast Highway) and found myself still looking straight into the sun, but now I was on the pier.

And what do ya know .... MORE lens flare!

The ocean was exceptionally pretty on Saturday.  (And yes, it does look very different on a day to day basis.)

I watched the surfers for quite awhile.

I also browsed the little shops and did a lot of people watching.

Not long after that, it was time to head down PCH towards home.  

I snapped this through the car windshield just for you:

© Twenty Four At Heart

The End of a Long Week

What a stressful week!

I'm so glad I can take some time this weekend to relax.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Mother Nature's Show

* I know a lot of you are interested in getting an update on yesterday's post.  I appreciate all the information, advice, and kindness you've extended.  As of right now, the situation is still bad.  Maybe worse.  It's also in flux.  I will try to have an update for you tomorrow.  *

I haven't been able to get enough of the beach, the warm weather, or our spectacular sunrises and sunsets lately.  Mother Nature has been in all her glory.  I've taken over 1,000 photos in the last week.  I won't, obviously, bore you with all of them.  (Your welcome!)

There are a few I thought you'd enjoy though.

Sunrise over "my" mountain (taken from my patio):

The above photo sold the morning I took it.  I sent it out on Twitter via TwitPic and someone promptly ordered it.

The golden hour, just prior to sunset, in Newport Beach:

Fishing at sunset:

Sometimes the sun does funky things at the end of the day.  

I love it ....!

Surfers headed home after a day of surfing:

And last, another exceptionally beautiful sunset.  We've had so many the last few weeks.  It has truly been incredible.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Newport Beach

I've been in heaven with our weather lately.  I'm not trying to make you feel bad if you're surrounded by snow right now, I just can't help enjoying how nice it has been here.

I spent a lot of time at the beach this weekend.  There weren't many people there - at least, not in the late, late, afternoon when I like to be there.

The above photo was taken at Crystal Cove in Newport Beach.  You can see the little "river" heading out to the ocean with the run-off from recent storms.

It was in the 80's here this weekend.  (27+C)

I could have spent every waking second at the beach if real life didn't include responsibilities and boring grown-up stuff.

I did see a couple tourists walk by.  Tourists are often very easy to spot.

I was so happy to be at the beach after a couple weeks filled with a lot of negativity.  I was ecstatic to have my camera in my hands.  When you've had no little use of your arm for several years you really appreciate the small things.

After a bit of a climb, I sat on some very pointy, sharp, rocks for a long time waiting to get some nice sunset shots.

It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it.

(I want you to know my butt really hurt sitting on those rocks.)

The waiting paid off though.  It was one of the most vivid, beautiful sunsets I've seen in a long time.

I know you're going to think I photoshopped the hell out of these next two photos, but I didn't.  They didn't need it - the sky was spectacular all on its own.

That's Catalina Island you see the sun dropping behind in the distance.  I have a lot of childhood, summertime, memories of Catalina.  It holds a special spot in my heart.

After the sun dropped, the sky continued to put on a beautiful light show for quite some time.

So beautiful!

And that's why I love Orange County ....

© Twenty Four At Heart

Shhhh! It's a Secret!

One of my favorite beaches is a bit of a secret, even to many OC people.

Did you notice the driveway in the bottom right corner of the photo?

Can you imagine pulling your car into your garage right there, feet from the beach, every day?

Sigh!

© Twenty Four At Heart

Now, What Were We Talking About?

I wanted to share a little more about the Rose Parade with you.

These are the mountains I grew up in, as viewed from my seat at the Rose Parade.

Aren't they beautiful?

The parade opened with the, initially silent, appearance of a stealth bomber.

It IS stealthly because you don't hear it approaching.  I'm not impressed by such things, but ... I was impressed - and oohed and ahhed.

The grandstands were filled with a lot of football fans.  They had traveled far and wide to watch their teams play in the Rose Bowl, but they were enjoying the parade first.

Here's a Wisconsin fan:

Here's a Texas fan:

I love people watching.  Really, there are few things as entertaining as a gathering with lots of people!

Did you know Paula Deen was the Grand Marshall of the Rose Parade?  

It's quite an honor to be asked.

Remember how I mentioned how cold it was the day of the parade?

The snow capped mountains in the Los Angeles area made for a beautiful day.

And yes, I did take the above photo right through our car windshield as we drove home.

© Twenty Four At Heart

A Glimpse of the Rose Parade

Did you watch the Rose Parade this year?

Did you see me in the background on TV?  I was right there with close to one million other people.

Did you see the dragon float?  The dragon blew smoke out of his nose!

I grew up in the foothills above Los Angeles, not all that far from Pasadena.  The Rose Parade has been a part of my life always.  Even as an adult, it's still magical to me.  Maybe more so now, because I know how much work and effort goes into each float and the parade as a whole.

When you watch the parade from home, you get close up shots of each float.  You get the stories behind them too.  In many ways, it's absolutely better to watch from home.

There's a certain magic to being at the Rose Parade in person though.

For example, only by being there could I discover how hysterically funny The Poop Patrol (as Briefcase dubbed them) could be.

Every time there were horses in the parade, a crew of Poop Patrol-ers followed.  One crew, in particular, was quite entertaining.  They were a comedy team all of their own and kept stopping to pose for photos.  They provided, hands down, the funniest moments of the parade.  (Yes, I did quietly wonder what drugs/alcohol they might have gotten their hands on before scooping poop for the day.)

Briefcase and I arrived before dawn.  We had a reserved parking spot in a nearby garage.  (Very smart of us, by the way!)

The outside temperature was around 38F/3.33C which is really cold for Southern California.  We stayed in the car for quite awhile to stay warm.  Briefcase slept, I sipped on coffee.  Eventually we shared a peanut butter and jelly sandwich we had packed for breakfast.  

As the sun rose, we ventured out into the cold (!) where thousands of people were already set-up to watch the parade.  People camp out ahead of time for days, and many people arrive on New Year's Eve - staying all night to stake out their spots along the parade route.

These people were outside all night.  They're crazy brave!

There's a sense of camraderie among parade-goers.

As an aside:  Briefcase grew up on the east coast.  He supervised my clothing for the day - making me LAYER clothes, loaning me one of his old jackets, and digging out a pair of gloves for me to wear.  We've been married forever and he's still shocked at my lack of knowledge regarding cold weather.  (He's also still shocked at what I consider to be cold weather - anything below 70F/21C.)  I guess he did a good job prepping me though because I wasn't cold during the parade and I actually peeled off a layer or two of clothing after awhile.

I know many of you already watched the floats on TV, which is why I'm trying to give you a feel for things you probably didn't see on TV.

For instance, these guys:

The sun had just risen, but this man was happy to pose for a photo.  Hot dog for breakfast anyone?

By the way, at the end of the day, I witnessed the police ticketing several people with food carts for not having any proper licenses.  I think a lot of people were out just trying to make a buck for the day.  Some of the food being offered up for sale looked a lot scarier than what the above gentleman was selling.

I've got a few more sneak peeks of behind the scenes stuff to share in upcoming posts.

For today, I'll close with another float photo.  The American Native, below, was a work of art.  I don't think there's a photo that could possibly do it justice.  Every bit of his face, head, and headress is made of some type of plant material.  The amount of effort that went into making him is just astounding.

The finished product was stunning. 

© Twenty Four At Heart