the rose parade is almost here!

are you ready for pasadena's marquee event?  it is just around the corner!

have a happy new year!

fleeting

here is one more pasadena sky for you all as 2010 winds down.

more skywatch friday (even though this is thursday) can be found right here.

sonoma tree

while checking out jersey mike's, i stumbled upon a large public christmas tree that i hadn't previously known about.  i felt like one of my fellow bloggers (although this tree wasn't quite as out in the open as the one he stumbled upon).

jersey mike's

one of pasadena's newest sandwich shops is also part of a cross-country chain of establishments known as jersey mike's.  we stopped by the other day and enjoyed our subs immensely - although for the price ($7-9 for the regular size), we were left wishing they were either a bit larger, or a bit cheaper.

still, a nice addition to the pasadena neon scene.

coming soon...

all is calm on colorado boulevard.  for now...

pasadena is preparing for its biggest day of the year.

post-christmas cheer

we had a lovely christmas day. 

i hope you did too!

merry christmas!

it was just over one year ago that i posted a surprisingly similar photo of the interior of an all saints christmas service here in pasadena.  this year i packed up the baby and headed to all saints once again - this time for their afternoon christmas eve service.

as you can see from the photo, is was beautifully decorated, and filled to the brim with families celebrating the christmas story.


i hope everyone has a wonderful holiday, and if you celebrate it, a very merry christmas!

christmas eve rainbow for skywatch friday

while it wasn't quite a full double rainbow (what does this mean??), it was a pretty cool sight to see after our crazy weather on wednesday afternoon.

more skywatch friday photo fun can be found right here as usual.

it was a crazy day of precipitation

see

i've held off talking about our recent wet weather because...  well, i wasn't sure i had anything special to add.  but wednesday afternoon's downpour was so amazing that i figured i better take some pictures.

i want you to take a close look at the above photo - see that white stuff in the grass?  that is hail (additional photo below).  see that gray matter where the sidewalk should be?  yeah, that's a river.  see the van that is waiting to turn out into the road?  yeah, water is pouring through his front wheels.

i can't imagine what is going on up in our mountains, and in the communities at the foot of the mountains.  i haven't heard anything too terrible yet, but if the rain keeps coming, who knows what will happen.

certainly there is cause for concern at our various runoff basins and water channels across los angeles county.

waves of oahu's north shore

we missed out on the big ones on our recent trip to hawaii -- even though we were there in prime north shore wave season.  ah well, they were beautiful anyway. 

rose bowl aquatic center at night

while walking back to my car after the recent arroyo verde awards, i noticed that there were bright lights and noise coming from the aquatic center.

i thought, "seriously?"

it was december after all - cold enough that i could see my breath - and yet the pool was packed.  many seemed to be playing or practicing water polo, while others were just swimming laps.  the pool was creating a good amount of steam in the air, and it made for quite a sight.

support the movie "dive!"

the pasadena-based creators of the brilliant award winning documentary on dumpster diving and food waste (which i've mentioned before on this blog) have set out to send a copy of "dive!" to every trader joe's and whole foods store in the country, including a letter asking them to adopt a corporate-wide policy to end food waste. 

they have a little ways to reach their fundraising goal on kickstarter.com, and only two days to get there, but the good part is that you can help them out and in the process get a copy of the new, extended cut of "dive!" for a $25 pledge.

here is the link:  http://kck.st/gPtw2i

oahu coast

we were in awe as we drove along hawaii's beautiful coast.  okay, we live in a state that has a pretty amazing coast, and it is the same pacific ocean - but it just seemed like hawaii's water was bluer, the sky was clearer, and the rocks were...  rockier.

if you don't mind, i've got a few more non-pasadena photos from our trip for the next few days.

aloha from hawaii

we just returned from a few days on the island of oahu, home to hawaii's capital city, and some of the most beautiful scenery, best food, and friendliest people in the usa.

awe had a great time almost everywhere we went, including the above photo of hanauma bay, where we went snorkeling and baked on the sand.

on the edge of the world

on a recent hike we bumped in to some mountain bikers taking a break from their morning ride.  from this vantage point, it looks like they are perched on the edge of the world.  don't you think?

more skywatch friday photos can be found right here.

pendulum swing

any guesses as to where this was taken?  it isn't in pasadena, but it's not far away.  here's a hint - you can see the beautifully painted ceiling of the room that this is located reflected in the ball of the pendulum. 

corner of villa and los robles

intelligentsia coffee drinkers

taking a page from laurie in south pasadena today (known for her beautiful black and white images from time to time).  i hope you like it!

looking up marengo

we're taking a trip for a few days.  

i'll tell you all about it when we get back.  behave yourselves while i'm gone!

sand mandala, part two

remember when i posted the images of the tibetan monks making a sand mandala?

well those same guys spent the week creating one of their masterpieces at occidental college.  i decided to go for the closing ceremonies which included the sweeping up of the finished product until there was nothing but the table left and a small pile of sand.

the kaleidoscope entrance to the kidspace museum

 

i mentioned in yesterday's post that the arroyo seco award event was held at the kidspace museum.  this is the entrance at night.  

crazy, right? 

the 2010 arroyo verde awards

last night i had the pleasure of attending an event organized by the arroyo seco foundation at the kidspace museum to celebrate people and organizations who helped to preserve and promote the beautiful arroyo seco area.  i attended not simply as an onlooker, but because those of us who wrote an article for hahamongna blog day (you can find mine here) were selected by the organization as the recipient of the "best advocacy" award for this year.

bloggers in attendance recieved a lovely certificate award to take home, as well as a team trophy of this light-up crystal frog thingy (see below).  its fate has yet to be determined...

heritage wine company

and a cyclist whizzing on by.

Fuller Theological Seminary from Above

sorry again for the delay in today's posting. 
still no internet at home... 

fading to the horizon

our internet has been a bit shaky of late...  sorry for the late post. 

happy anniversary

 one year ago i posted this image from one of the most amazing weddings i've ever been to (besides my own, of course).  the wedding was miraculous in the way in which it was thrown together and the circumstances that surrounded this couple.  well i'm happy to offer nathan and adrianne my heartiest congrats on their one year anniversary.

you can read their amazing retrospective account of their big day on their blog.

congrats you two, and blessings on many more years to come.

paseo fountain

up on the second level of the paseo colorado shopping complex is this beautiful plaza and fountain which always catches my eye as we walk on by.

drive me crazy

busy traffic on an evening in pasadena along the 210 freeway. 

i hope your weekend is traffic free!

calendar discount!

the sky is big in pasadena 2011 calendar by can8ianben
See other calendars 2011 designs.

thinking about getting a 'sky is big' calendar, but thought the price was too high?

-- 40% off all calendars wtih code 40CLNDRS2011

enjoy!

painting the sky

a bit more pasadena sky to brighten your day.

more skywatch friday photos from bloggers around the world can be found right here.  enjoy!

obligatory seasonal green street image

the title of this one pretty much says it all!  i love the way the lights look on the trees along green street.  during this time of year it almost makes me want to go out of my way to get on this quaint one way passage through pasadena.  and this is not the first time to have an image like this on the blog.

december theme day: time

one of old town pasadena's newest sugar destinations is rocket fizz - a small chain of stores specializing in an incredible variety of soft drinks and candy.  like a kid in a candy store, i felt trapped in time as i browsed isles of nostalgic treats of my sugary childhood.

do you want to travel back to a simpler and sweeter time?  check them out on green street in old town.  as usual, the first of the month is theme day - many other members of the city daily photo family are working with the theme of time today.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

the hike less traveled

our thanksgiving celebration involved an early morning hike.  our original plan was to follow the path to millard canyon falls, but unfortunately that route was closed off to the public. 

our alternative hike ended up to be just as enjoyable as we were originally anticipating.  while we didn't get to see the falls, we did get some breathtaking scenery and beautiful images.  the photo below shows the scar that still appears on the mountains from 2009's station fire.

love this blog? buy the sky is big 2011 calendar!

the sky is big in pasadena 2011 calendar by can8ianben
Create personalized calendars with zazzle.com

one colorado tree lighting night

i took the baby for a stroll on friday night to check out the tree lighting ceremony at one colorado - part of old town pasadena's seasonal event calendar.  it was incredibly busy with a wide variety of events taking place - the tasty christmas treats being handed out, photos with santa, and the christmas movies being shown on the screen.  i'm not sure if baby A. knew what to make of the hustle and bustle, but i thought it was a fun time.

city hall

it has been a little while since i've shown our city hall.

okay, well maybe it hasn't been that long.  but i just can't stay away from our beautiful city centerpiece.  i hope you enjoy her as much as i do!

courthouse perspective

as i was walking along the sidewalk in front of the pasadena county building (aka, the courthouse), i decided to drop my camera down to the sidewalk and point it up toward the sky.  i really like the image that came through - i hope you do too!

winter is moving in?

this year has been up and down with all kinds of random weather patterns.  some days have been blistering hot, others rainy and cool.  this week has brought some cooler weather to pasadena once again, with several days of grey overcast looming clouds (and even a dusting of snow on our mountains which i unfortunately did not capture).

more skywatch friday photos can be found right here.

any guesses as to where this photo was taken from?

give thanks

my sister has critiqued my blog for not having enough photos with people in them.  well, i figured this one would satisfy for a little while!  this photo is of a recent fondue night with our good friends.  i'm thankful for many things in my life, but food, friends, and family are a good place to start.

have a very happy thanksgiving!

oh yeah, and fondue night with our friends was way too fun.  does anyone else feel like you do not do stuff like this often enough?

deck the halls

the paseo colorado shopping complex is currently undergoing its seasonal changes - christmas decorations, and even a giant menorah (see it across the way?).

it was interesting to see the tree being decorated by a boom lift truck - is your tree big enough to need one of those?

the goodhue flagpole

i took this photo back in the spring as i was completing my epic pasadena mosaic park sign series.  this one is of a monument flag pole known as goodhue.  it is located at orange grove and colorado, quite close to the norton simon museum.

this photo ended up not being included in the aforementioned park series because it does not include a mosaic tile sign.  it does deserve to be shown on the blog as an element that makes pasadena...  well, pasadena!

all saints

i've mentioned all saints church on this blog before a few times.  it is tucked in next to our beautiful city hall.  palm trees and sunshine.  a pretty lovely spot.

city hall sunshine

a little sunny perspective on this cloudy sunday.  i think this photo was taken way back in may during our blogger tour of city hall.

going pro

at first glance this may not look like a photo i took - but - long time followers of this blog may recognize this photo from way back in february of last year.

that's right folks, i've been published (and this time it is legit).  okay, fuller seminary's website is far from the top of the art world, but still, it felt pretty cool to see my work in "print" of some kind.  you can see the photo on the live web page by clicking on the image above.

thanks to the dmin program for being interested in my work!

wispy clouds

short and simple, another pasadena sky photo for skywatch friday.