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.