here's a treat!

a tasty photo from old town pasadena's favorite frozen yogurt joint, 21 choices.

i have something big planned for tomorrow, and for all of august.  but for now, i know what you are all waiting for - the answer to thursday's trivia contest!

there were only six correct answerers who submitted "memorial park".  i'm not sure if that is because only six people were interested in prize i was offering, or if the question was just too hard for many of my readers who don't live in pasadena.  either way, a random number was selected by random.org...

 
and since timmy was the first person with the correct answer, he wins the copy of helen of pasadena!  congrats mr. tim.  i hope you enjoy.  for those who missed out, you can still buy a copy for yourself at your local bookstore, or by visiting the online monster linked below...

Aussie Rules Football

when some friends asked if i wanted to go watch some australian ex-pats play one of their national games, i had little idea what to expect.  my only contact with australian football had been a few highlights on tv.

we made the trip to a sports park in encino and were pleasantly surprised at how accessible the game was to watch - even for a newbie.  we watched the los angeles dragons defeat the san diego lions.

certainly something that i never thought i'd do, but we had a great time.

pasadena palmed sky

quintessential photo for this blog.

more skywatch friday photos from around the globe can be found at this link.

contest time!

okay people, here is how this thing is going to work.  we have an extra copy of the lovely novel "helen of pasadena", set in (you guessed it) the city of pasadena.  if you would like to own this book, simply leave a comment on this blog entry with your answer to the following question...

in which pasadena park is this pint-sized train depot located?

if you need a refresher on the pasadena parks, you can check out my park series from last year.  the winner will be chosen at random from those who post the correct answer.  i will announce the winner on sunday's blog post.

eastward on colorado blvd

more of green street

frozen yogurt with which toppings?

summer is here.  time to head on down to cherry on top for some self-serve frozen yogurt with the toppings of your choice.

at the corner of green street and lake

enjoy your summer sunday!

hangin' with dave

skywatching fireworks

this is a photo from our recent trip back east.  our visit included a ballgame with some people to celebrate a family birthday.  the game even included some post-game fireworks, hence today's photo.

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

by request...

we took this photo last night after bumping in to some friends at levitt pavilion for the free kids putamayo show.  after the photo was taken, a few of these people asked - "is this going to end up on the sky is big?"

of course.

a quick reminder that i haven't been to a dodger game in a while...

the los angeles zoo

after almost four years in this area, i finally made a visit to the la zoo.  this visit was particularily special because my daughter (let's call her "A" - she's not a baby anymore) was along for the ride.  A loved watching the various animals and her parents loved watching her expressions even more.

2011 shrine of the eternals induction ceremony

i've mentioned before how much i love the baseball reliquary - one of the most incredible baseball institutions in the world (and i am happy to be a card carrying member).  this year marked the third time that i have been able to attend the annual induction ceremony (you can read my entry for 2009 and 2010 by clicking on those years).

those in attendance were able to witness incredible speeches from inductees including the san diego chicken (pictured above, strutting his stuff for the crowd), and former dodger great maury wills (pictured below).  baseball fans in southern california should go out of their way to make it to one of the reliquary's events - better yet, become a card carrying member and be able to vote on next year's inductees!

universal studios from above

caught this view of a local tourist attraction and surrounding area from above.

trash fashion

one of the most interesting things about attending the mennonite convention was the trash fashion show put on by eastern mennonite university (my beloved alma mater).  the runway was set up on top of the convention center, and the models and fashion designs were done predominantly by high school and college students.

pittsburgh skyline at sunset

i wasn't joking when i said that i thought pittsburgh was beautiful.  more skywatch friday photos from around the globe can be found right here.

where have ya' been?

just got back to town after close to two weeks on the east coast - most of it connecting with old friends and family.  a big chunk of our trip was spent in the beautiful (yes, i said beautiful) city of pittsburgh.  we were there for the bi-annual mennonite church usa convention (a small portion shown above).  fun stuff.

i'll have more photos from our trip over the next few days.

fuller's new green space

 

 

this area was designated for a new worship center at fuller seminary.  the collapse of the financial market means there isn't money right now for that project, thus the space needed to be filled with something.

i'm glad fuller went "green" and put in all of these plants.  brigham yen has a great write up on his website.

orange grove shopping center

"baja" ranch

the supermarket formerly known as "king" ranch -- i'm still not quite used to the name change.

l.a. skyline

who says los angeles doesn't have a pretty skyline?

new traffic signal

this didn't exist only a few weeks ago, but now you can cross orange grove safely at this cross-walk!

quite possibly, my favorite pasadena sky

more skywatch friday photos can be found right here.

fast food

this stretch of north lake also includes a bunch of other chain options (and some pretty cool local joints as well).

magnolia tree

helmet head

someone get this girl a bike!

orange grove gardens

even better than yesterday's orange grove manor - am i right??

pasadena - happy fourth of july!

orange grove manor

i spotted this apartment complex with a very eloquent title.

and get this, i've got an even better one for tomorrow.

plaza

north lake avenue, home of several wonderful little places to find some food including polkatots cupcakes, and slaw dogs.

july theme day: the color green

this month the city daily bloggers are focusing on the color green.  i hope you like my choice!

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants


and.....

HAPPY CANADA DAY to all my canadian friends and family.  i'm heading out of town for a little while, so this blog will be on autopilot.  if i take a while to respond to comments - that is why!