San Gabriel Valley Bloggers Potluck 3/20

Posted on 24. Feb, 2010 by kchristieh in local news

All San Gabriel Valley* bloggers, families, fans and groupies are welcome to the 2nd Annual SGV Blogger’s Potluck at noon at Farnsworth Park in Altadena. We’ll meet rain or shine at the covered picnic area on the north end of the park. BBQ’s are available. To rsvp, call or email or . Hosted by Altadenablog, Altadenahiker, Altadena Above it All, Altadena Daily Photo and Open Mouth Insert Fork.

I love meeting great new people and catching up with the wonderful people I follow online in person, so I wouldn’t miss this! I hope to see you there!! Now to decide what yummy food to make…

* Hopefully we’ll see bloggers from Eagle Rock, La Canada, La Crescenta, Glendale, etc. there, too!

Let the merriment begin!

Using Open Government to Create Change – Forum

Posted on 20. Feb, 2010 by kchristieh in politics

Monica Hubbard alerted me to this great League of Women Voters event on March 6th in Pasadena:

From Media Liaison Jackie Knowles:

Subject: Saving democracy

Hedab Tarifi, who was raised in Kuwait, knows what it is like to live under a tyranny and closed government. She relishes the transparency of government in a democracy. But she also knows citizens need to know how to access information and put it to work to improve their communities. A case of use it or lose it.

She will be the keynote speaker at a free public forum, Access to Impact: Using Open Government to Create Change, sponsored by the League of Women Voters Pasadena Area on March 6. Pete Peterson, executive director of Common Sense California, will emcee panelists from media, libraries and government about the challenges and dangers of information gathering.

This community forum is being held on Saturday, March 6, in the vicinity of Northwest Pasadena at the Neighborhood Church to reach a wider audience. Spanish translation will be provided.

This should be an eye-opening event you and your readers/listeners won’t want to miss.

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS PASADENA AREA
NEWS RELEASE BACKGROUND INFORMATION
CONTACT: Monica Hubbard, Social Policy Director League of Women Voters Pasadena Area ()

COMMUNITY INVITED TO FORUM ON CITIZENS RIGHT TO KNOW

Community members in the ten cities served by League of Women Voters Pasadena Area are invited to participate in a forum to discuss open, accessible and transparent government.

“Access to Impact: Using Open Government to Create Change” is scheduled for Saturday, March 6, from 8:30 a.m. to noon at Neighborhood Church, 301 N. Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena.  The forum is free.  An RSVP is requested at or

Links to the articles referencing Access to Impact in the League’s newsletter are here:

LWV Voter articles (page 1 and 4):  http://www.lwvpasadenaarea.org/marvoter.pdf

A flier in English and Spanish is here: http://www.lwvpasadenaarea.org/access%28english&spanish%29.pdf

League of Women Voters Pasadena Area
1353 N Hill Ave
Pasadena CA 91104
Tel (LWV Office)

Best 2010 Rose Parade Moments

Posted on 01. Jan, 2010 by kchristieh in local news

Apart from the awesome hometown La Canada float, the best float in today’s Rose Parade included brave and talented bulldogs snowboarding down a long  ramp. The crowd loved them, and we were incredibly jealous that when the parade stopped because another float broke, the bulldogs were two blocks away and not in front of us. It’s a travesty that this float didn’t win , but it won our hearts and that counts more.

Of course, we loved the La Canada Flintridge float, which featured an origami dragon. It perfectly fit the “Cut Above the Rest” theme, so it’s not surprising that it won the Fantasy Trophy.

The Jack in the Box float was very festive. Jack looked like he was hosting a big party, and we were all invited.

The Rose Court looked lovely, of course.

The Burbank Float stayed in front of our building for a long time while it appeared that experts were fixing another float that had broken down. At least the animated airplane was fun to see twist and turn.The Honda Float was quite impressive.

I recognized the South Pasadena float from afar by the font they used for the word “Pharmacy.” It’s the same font used on the outside of the wonderful Fair Oaks Pharmacy. My kids love getting ice cream and other treats there.

The Los Angeles Unified School District Band enjoyed relaxing for awhile while another float was being repaired.

I bet that Kaiser Permanente carefully chose who would ride the carousel animals on this float.

Does anyone know why the American flag was upside down? You’d have to be on your back looking up at it for it to look correct.

The huge horse and tow trucks heralded the end of the parade…

But we all know the parade isn’t over until we see the John 3:16 guy.

Happy New Year!!

From the Norton Simon to hippos

Posted on 05. Dec, 2009 by kchristieh in art, food

My son needed to visit a museum today to complete a report for his high school photography class. He insisted that we visit the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, and two of his friends chose to tag along.

I love the Norton Simon. It has a very high quality collection that reflects a wide array of periods and styles. My son especially enjoyed the “Divine Demons: Wrathful Deities of Buddhist Art” exhibition. What teenage boy wouldn’t? I was very impressed with how thoughtfully each of the boys examined all the art, and they had many good insights. I got a kick out of how they noted that some of the Renaissance paintings reminded them of scenes from video games.

My favorite exhibition was “Gaze: Portraiture after Ingres.” It showcased several centuries of fine portraits in a wide variety of styles. One of my favorites was this caricature that Wolo Trutzschler drew of Galka Sheyer. It captured so much in one drawing, and I think that if I were to see her walking down the street, not only would I recognize her, but I’d have an idea of what makes her tick.

I was intrigued enough to look up Wolo Truzschler when I got home. It turns out his full name was “Baron Wolff Erhardt Anton George Trutzschler von Falkenstein” and he loved living in San Francisco. His son’s website says that he drew the original design for Edgar Bergen’s , was a caricaturist for the San Francisco Chronicle, wrote and illustrated five children’s books, painted murals and gave puppet shows.

I discovered that I’ve appreciated his art before, as he was the artist behind the now-defunct Hippopotamus Hamburgers in San Francisco. I think I first ate at Hippo Hamburgers when I visited California on a high school church handbell tour, and raved about it to my hippo-crazed sister and friend back in NJ. The place was themed so well that the toilets were even open hippo mouths! This place is legendary in our family.

But further Googling found this gem of a Wolo von Truzschler drawing, which accompanied a recipe for the Stanfordburger in the Hippopotamus Hamburgers cookbook. Right-click on the picture and choose “view image” to see a larger version, where you can read the complete recipe. Note that olive on top. That’s supposed to reflect the top of the “Freudian” Hoover Tower.

Maybe I should serve it at my next pre-reunion party…

A healthy traveler is a happy traveler

Posted on 16. Jul, 2009 by kchristieh in health, travel

I don’t have fond memories of my trip to Madrid in 1985. I mostly remember doubling over in pain from a horrible stomachache that I probably got by drinking water with bacteria that my body wasn’t equipped to handle.

I’ve sworn to do all that I can to avoid that in the future, so that’s how I recently wound up at the Healthy Traveler Clinic in Pasadena, CA. Until I discovered them, I hadn’t realized that there’s actually a medical specialty of travel medicine. I was very impressed by the doctor, the staff and the office, and recommend Healthy Traveler to anyone traveling to an area where they might benefit from pre-trip vaccinations. My risk-aversion trumped my fear of shots, so I bravely submitted to three shots. The doctor also sent me home with chloroquine to prevent malaria and a prescription for an antibiotic that I should take at the first sign of another bad stomachache.

Hopefully I won’t need any of this, but at least I’m as prepared as possible. I have a sensitive stomach, lots of allergies, and am a mosquito magnet, so I figure I can’t be too careful.

If I do get sick, I wonder if a stuffed e. coli Giant Microbe would cheer me up. I don’t want to test it.

Meet the competition: SAT Review Gone Wild

Posted on 12. Jun, 2009 by kchristieh in education, parenting

I’m not sure which part of the following Elite of Arcadia SAT review course ad scares my children more. Is it the special “2400 Club” class for kids who have already scored above 2200 and are seeking a perfect score? Or is it the Monday – Friday, 14 week, 5.5 hour/day Boot Camp?

When you’re in a district that’s ranked highly by Newsweek, you compete against kids who take these classes. One child I know said these classes should be called “mental hospitals,” since this child swears that many of the kids who take them are on a verge of a breakdown. Perhaps they are. And perhaps they and/or their parents think it’s worth it.

The Wall St. Journal recently featured an article titled, “SAT Coaching Found to Boost Scores — Barely.” It said that,

Families can spend thousands of dollars on coaching to help college-bound students boost their SAT scores. But a new report finds that these test-preparation courses aren’t as beneficial as consumers are led to believe.

The report, to be released Wednesday by the National Association for College Admission Counseling, criticizes common test-prep-industry marketing practices, including promises of big score gains with no hard data to back up such claims. The report also finds fault with the frequent use of mock SAT tests because they can be devised to inflate score gains when students take the actual SAT.

On the other hand, the article continued that,

The report also noted that some college-admissions officers indirectly encourage applicants to sign up for SAT-prep courses by setting score cutoffs. A survey included in the report found that more than a third of schools with tight selection criteria said that an increase of just 20 points in the math section of the SAT, and of 10 points in the critical reading section, would “significantly improve students’ likelihood of admission.”

Either way, my kids won’t be taking these classes. My daughter took her last SAT on Saturday, and my son would rue me forever if I made him take this class. Hopefully they’ll gain good life, spiritual, athletic and academic experiences from the summer we have plannned.

Colorado Blvd. is becoming a concrete jungle

Posted on 05. Apr, 2009 by kchristieh in environment, local news

I’d heard about the trees that were taken out along Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena, but I was stunned yesterday to see how much it changed the look and feel of the street. Here’s the view looking west from Lake Ave.:

I had never realized how much of a difference the trees made in that district. It felt friendlier before, and less rushed. I took a few deep breaths and proceeded west, telling myself that at least the trees were going to be replaced with trees that were easier to maintain.

But then I saw this in front of Pasadena Presbyterian. This man appears to be filling in the tree location with CONCRETE! I’ve seen some amazing trees, but I’ve never seen one that could grow roots through concrete. There were other men doing the same thing in neighboring blocks.

I hope I’m reading this wrong, because I think this looks awful. The trees were partly what attracted my husband and I to Pasadena in the late 80’s. They make this world-class city a friendlier, more beautiful place to live, work and visit. I hate to see them go, and to have Pasadena start looking like its big concrete neighbor to the south.

What would you perform here?

Posted on 02. Apr, 2009 by kchristieh in local news, my life, theater, tv

Just south of the pathetic Cesar Chavez Memorial Garden at Farnsworth Park, there’s an 800-seat amphitheater. It’s so well-hidden that I didn’t realize it was just 100′ away from me while I partied down at the blogger picnic on Saturday afternoon.

I wonder how often there are performances here? I can envision a summer Shakespeare or concert series. If I were a kid living near here, I’d put on my own show. Think of the possibilities!

I wish we had something like this in my town. I hope Altadena’s appreciating it!

When I lived in Pasadena, I served on the Recreation & Parks Commission. Farnsworth Park wasn’t under our jurisdiction, since it’s maintained by the County of Los Angeles. But Pasadena has many other fine parks, so we had lots to do.

I can’t wait until the new series “Parks and Recreation” debuts on April 9th. I love “The Office” and I think Amy Poehler is terrific, so my expectations are high.

A pathetic tribute to Cesar Chavez

Posted on 31. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in environment, inspirational people

After the blogger picnic at Farnsworth Park in Altadena on Saturday, I took the long way back to the car. Behind the main park building, I found the Cesar Chavez Memorial Garden. Isn’t it pathetic?

People shouldn’t plant memorial gardens unless they plan to maintain them.

Is there anyone out there who would take this over and give it the love it deserves? I can’t, since I can’t keep a plant alive for more than a week, but hopefully this blog post will reach someone who cares.

Don’t plant a garden for me when I die someday. Just make sure this blog isn’t deleted.

Local blogger list from today’s picnic

Posted on 28. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in local news, social networking

Kudos to the brilliant soul who had bloggers write their urls on this poster at today’s picnic! Click here for a larger version.

Local Blogger Picnic in Altadena this Saturday

Posted on 24. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in food, local news

Come one, come all, to the San Gabriel Valley Blogger’s Potluck in Altadena this Saturday.

Bloggers and their beloved families and groupies are welcome.

Many thanks to Altadenablog, Altadenahiker, Altadena Above It All and Open Mouth, Insert Fork for hosting this fabulous event!!

Pasadena has 50 homeless people per square mile, of whom 10 are children

Posted on 19. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in local news, startling statistics

Union Station, the big Pasadena, CA homeless shelter, included this sad statistic in an email the other day:

On any given night in Pasadena, approximately 1,145 people are living on our streets, in cars, and in temporary shelters. This is a 16% increase from last year.  Children make up an alarming 20% of the homeless population.

Pasadena covers 23 square miles. That means that there are 50 homeless people per square mile, of whom 10 are children.

We used to live in Pasadena, east of Caltech. I never saw a homeless person anywhere near our house. I visit Pasadena frequently, and there are areas where you will never see a homeless person.

So, that means the homeless are concentrated into a much smaller area. My guess is that they’re in about 1/3 of the city. So that would mean that in some parts of the city, there might be 150 homeless people, including 30 children, per square mile.

These are hard numbers to fathom.

2009 Pasadena Doo Dah Parade

Posted on 18. Jan, 2009 by kchristieh in local news

After this morning’s blogger breakfast, I had the pleasure of watching the 2009 Pasadena Doo Dah parade. What a treat!
I was fortunate enough to stand next to the reviewing stand, so I took this cute picture of the beautiful Queen Skittles:

Ann Erdman looked lovely as a disco afficionado:

Just like the Rose Parade, there were men in white suits. But these were furry and carried chainsaws:

Susan C. encouraged everyone to become a marrow donor. Do it now!!!

The boo boo kitty camp float was scary:

After yesterday’s faith healing service, it was only fitting that I should see the Pope today:

Here’s a sign I’ll remember over the next few days:

The marshmallow catapult looked like something I would have designed in ME 103. Too bad he didn’t shoot any to me!!

You can see more photos (and better versions of these) on my .

Our unique and not-so-unique family birthday traditions

Posted on 04. Jan, 2009 by kchristieh in my life, parenting

When I was growing up, my parents would let us eat just about anything. (I say “just about” since there must have been something they didn’t, but I can’t think of anything that was banned.) When my Uncle Jim would visit us in New Jersey from Oregon, he’d chastise my mother for letting us eat sugary cereals, and for a few days we wouldn’t. But we’d revert back to our old ways as soon as he left.

Even though I loved my Cap’n Crunch, deep down I knew it was junk. So when I had kids, I vowed to feed them better. My kids know they aren’t allowed to even ask for that kind of stuff.

Except on their birthdays. Once a year, they get to have two boxes of whatever cereal they want. It started out with one box, but things got dicey when the non-birthday child would want to eat the birthday kid’s cereal. The other day, my daughter lucked out: she wanted Cocoa Puffs and Crunchberries, but it was cheaper to buy two boxes of the latter than one. So she got three boxes of junk cereal. For her 17th birthday.

I thought we were unique until I read today’s NY Times Magazine article “Forbidden Nonfruit.” In it, Joshua Yaffa recounts how he and his sister were permitted to get whatever birthday cereal they wanted. He’d choose Frosted Flakes, and his sister would choose Cocoa Puffs. Seriously, I was going to blog about this today before I read this. Too coincidental!!

When my daughter was little, I used to take her back to the hospital she was born in on her birthday and show her the babies born on her birthday. We’d talk about what she was like when she was born, and marvel that these babies would share her birthday. Unfortunately, the hospital stopped letting the public have access to the maternity ward, so we can’t do that anymore. I understand, but I miss this tradition.

My favorite tradition is to have tea at the Huntington Gardens every year on my daughter’s birthday. We’ve done it every year since she was three (!) and we invite all relatives that are willing to come. Everyone loves the atmosphere and the food, and afterwards we walk around the gardens. Hopefully we’ll always have this tradition, even as she gets older.

Video of Stealth Bomber flying overhead

Posted on 02. Jan, 2009 by kchristieh in local news, politics, startling statistics

Here’s a very short video of the Stealth (B-2) Bomber flying over yesterday’s Rose Parade:

It was really quiet as it approached, but louder as it flew away. No matter how many times I see this, it’s still really cool. It seemed pretty close from the 9th floor.

Here are some interesting Stealth Bomber facts from Wikipedia:

• The total program cost, which includes development, engineering, and testing, averaged US$2.1 billion per aircraft.
• A procurement of 132 aircraft was planned in the mid-1980s, but this was later reduced to 75. Yielding to budgetary pressures and congressional opposition, in his 1992 State of the Union Address, President George H.W. Bush announced total B-2 production would be limited to 20 aircraft. This reduction was largely a result of the disintegration of the Soviet Union, which effectively rendered void the Spirit’s primary Cold War mission.
• The high development costs also reflect the inefficiencies of separating design teams into different parts of the country for reasons of both design intelligence compartmentalization as a counter-espionage measure, and as a political measure to create lucrative jobs manufacturing different constituent parts of the plane in a variety of Congressional districts across the United States.

As cool as I think the Stealth is, I don’t think it’s worth the cost.

Instead of flying over the start of the parade, the aircraft flew over at exactly 9:00 a.m. Did someone forget what time the parade started???

A 9th Floor View of the Rose Parade

Posted on 01. Jan, 2009 by kchristieh in local news

We enjoyed watching the Rose Parade from my husband’s office at Lake and Colorado today. Here are a few photos:

The Jack in the Box float. Jack can groove!!

We all loved the Wizard of Oz float.

We kept looking for Sarah Palin on the Alaska float:

JP and PJ enjoyed the balloons from the building’s breakfast:

Wish Tree for Pasadena allows you to dream of a better world

Posted on 16. Aug, 2008 by kchristieh in art, local news

What’s a wish? A dream? A prayer? A hope? I saw all of those on the pieces of paper tied to the 21 small trees that comprise the Wish Tree for Pasadena project. People who visit can write their wishes on pieces of paper and tie them to branches, and can also see other peoples’ wishes.

The wishes ranged from “I wish for a fish” to “I wish that my children would live long healthy lives” to “I wish for world peace.” I was particularly moved by “I wish Grandma could remember” and “I wish there was a cure for autism” and “I hope that my mother become healthy.” The last one brought me to tears, as it was “signed” by a 2-year-old.

I made about six wishes. Several were for the health and continued safety of friends and relatives, and two were more global in scope. I know that putting a piece of paper on a tree won’t make something come true, but I think that by doing so I concentrated on doing what I can to make that wish to come true and I made a point of praying and continuing to pray for each one.

Interestingly, although I saw many from people that wished that Obama would become President, none mentioned McCain. I suppose that’s consistent with Obama’s declaration that he’s the candidate of hope.

Here’s how the Wish Tree website describes the project:

Wish Tree for Pasadena is an art installation that consists of 21 living crape myrtle trees installed amongst the café tables and chairs in the Courtyard of One Colorado. Visitors are invited to write their wishes on pieces of paper and hang them on the tree branches. Yoko Ono’s Wish Tree for Pasadena is free and open to the public.

Wishes from Wish Tree for Pasadena will be joined with others from all over the world and placed in specially constructed capsules to be installed in the area surrounding Yoko Ono’s Imagine Peace Tower on Videy Island, off the coast of Reykjavík, Iceland.

The Wish Trees will be displayed until November 9th. Check them out and be inspired!

Pasadena Chalk Festival highlights

Posted on 15. Jun, 2008 by kchristieh in art, local news, my life

No Father’s Day is complete without a visit to the annual Pasadena Chalk Festival. I’d thought we were going to miss it, but then my husband chose to go to Paseo Colorado for his Father’s Day dinner. Here are a few highlights:

Of course we liked the drawing of Barack Obama.

No chalk festival is complete without a Diego Rivera. I bet Rivera would have loved this festival.

It’s no wonder people love peacocks so much: they’re beautiful! Too bad they’re so loud and have such prolific excretory tracts. Also, it’s only the peacocks that are so pretty, not the peahens.

I really liked this one. It works well in chalk.

This one reminds me of Penelope Cruz in Volver. We saw it the other night, and loved it. We loved the strange, fantastic storyline, and Penelope Cruz is amazing in her native language. The Spanish in this movie was much faster than it was in Pan’s Labyrinth. Thank goodness for the subtitles. Of course, it would also help if I spoke Spanish instead of French.

After we left dinner at Islands, my daughter said she’d probably be pretty happy and relaxed living in Hawaii. I would too. It’s just too bad it’s so far from my relatives. I wish I lived on a beach like this one. Sometime I’ll need to visit Patti and Sheree!!

My daughter loved this one. If she had blue eyes, she’d kind of look like this. Except, I don’t think she could look so mean without laughing.

Here’s why we rushed out of the chalk festival. My husband was pretty antsy to get home and watch the Laker game. The Lakers just won, so I guess it was worth it.

Pasadena-area blogger’s picnic tomorrow

Posted on 18. Apr, 2008 by kchristieh in local news, my life

Mwahaha!!! I had a great time at the picnic last summer, and can’t wait for the one tomorrow. I’ll probably arrive around lunch time. Cool people, great food, fun times. See you there?

Saturday, April 19, 2008
10am to 3pm

Sunnyslope Park
700 N Sunnyslope Ave (at Orange Grove)
Pasadena, CA 91107

Blogger’s Picnic & Softball Snark
Potluck, Tea Party, Anonny Convention

Bring chair/blanket & something to share.

Be square and be there.

YouTube video shows inspirational El Salvadoran Rose Parade band

Posted on 03. Jan, 2008 by kchristieh in inspirational people, international, local news, music, my life, videos

On New Year’s Day my family enjoyed watching the Rose Parade from the balcony of my husband’s law office. We had a bird’s eye view from nine stories up, so it was a different perspective than most spectators had. I took with my new Flip Video Ultra and posted them on YouTube that afternoon.

The results from one of the videos in particular have been astounding. As of this blog posting, my has had nearly 6,000 views, has 124 comments, has been favorited 77 times and has received 11 honors. I uploaded the original video files to my server to accommodate the many people who asked me for them, and I hope that the guy who’s making the documentary about the band finds funding and uses my video. I’ve had many comments thanking me, and even fielded a phone call from a very nice person who thanked me profusely for posting the video. My daughter has helped me translate some of the comments, as about half of them are in Spanish.

It’s no surprise that the Nuestros Angeles de El Salvador band has inspired so many people. The LA Times story, , tells about how the band’s airfare funding fell through, so they took a five-day bus ride to get here.

Saul Perez, one of the band’s directors, said it would have been a crushing defeat if the group had not made it to Pasadena. The youth members practiced for more than a year, went through a rigorous selection process and were poised to represent their country on the world’s stage at Tuesday’s parade.

But problems began when 30 members of the group could not even begin the journey because they didn’t receive visas. Then the band canceled their flights because their budget was still short $200,000. They set out instead in a caravan of five buses on Christmas Day.

“When we left, we thought the trip would take three days,” Perez said. “It was a tale of many difficulties.”

When the band played at the corner of Lake and Colorado, the crowd went wild. No other band or float evoked such an enthusiastic reaction. Many of the spectators waved Salvadoran flags, and it was clear that they were inspired not just by the tough journey the band made to get here, but by the positive image the band was reflecting for El Salvador and Latinos everywhere.

My grandfather’s brother, Corbett, married a woman from Colonia Las Mercedes, San Salvador long, long ago. I used to send her Christmas cards, but after not hearing from her for many years I assumed she’d passed away. I wonder if she did? If any one of you El Salvador folks knows Maria Zuniga de Long, please let me know!

Pakistan vs. Pasadena: Which is more dangerous?

Posted on 27. Dec, 2007 by kchristieh in international, local news

I’m sad but not surprised to hear that Benazir Bhutto has been assassinated. She’d been a target ever since she set foot back in Pakistan. My first reaction to the news was to remind myself that Pakistan is one of the last places I’d ever want to visit (see why).

But then again, I’m visiting Pasadena today, and the that a man was shot and wounded amid throngs of shoppers and pedestrians at the corner of Colorado and Fair Oaks in Old Town Pasadena at about 7:30 pm last night. Lucky we decided not to go out to dinner last night.

I still prefer Pasadena over Pakistan. My freedom as both a citizen and as a woman is very dear to me. I just wish so many people here didn’t have/use guns.
But I think I’ll for awhile.

Snow day in Pasadena, California

Posted on 24. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in local news, my life

It was probably around 70 degrees when the kids and I turned the corner to see a man making snow on Holly Ave. in Old Town Pasadena today.

I was surprised when my teens begged to return this evening when there would be 30 tons of snow, reindeer, and a train. I happily obliged, and we included a friend and my niece on our adventure.

The snow was pretty packed and slushy by the time we arrived, but people were loving it.

The reindeer didn’t really want to be there, but we appreciated seeing them. They stuck to the center of their enclosure, where people couldn’t touch them.

We didn’t want to wait in line to ride the train, but many others did.

My son and my niece were so enthusiastic that they made a tiny little snowman. After we left, several families brought their little children over to see it. It made it all worthwhile.

Happy Holidays from Southern California!

The new Whole Foods in Pasadena will blow your mind

Posted on 07. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in food, local news, shopping

I’ve seen some great supermarkets, but the new Whole Foods in Pasadena is AMAZING!! According to the bagger we spoke to, it’s 77,000 sq. ft, and employs 450 people, of whom just over 200 are on the premises at one time. It’s a two-story building, and uses a cart escalator like the Target in Eagle Rock. It has at least three levels of underground parking.

I felt like the Country Mouse visiting the city for the first time. Here are just a few of the amazing things we saw:

• A pretzel bar. Get a sample of the grilled cheese pretzel. Whoa.
• A pudding bar (see picture below)
• Of course (!) a chocolate and gelato bar, complete with a chocolate fountain
• A wine and tapas bar (see picture below)
• A roasted nut bar
• Exquisite pastries, including cannoli
• A butter bar, with flavored herb butters
• Soap by the pound

Two out of the four of us are looking forward to our chipotle salmon burgers tonight. One doesn’t know about them, and the other refuses to eat fish, so he’s having something else.

This is definitely Pasadena’s newest tourist destination.

I’m sure that if the executives at Whole Foods could post on blogs, they’d agree with all I say here. Too bad they can’t.

Now to get a Whole Foods in La Canada so I don’t need to travel to Pasadena each time I need figs and berries. I know ours would never be this big, but I’d love it anyway!!!

Pasadena Bloggers Picnic: The Official Picture

Posted on 25. Aug, 2007 by kchristieh in my life

Many thanks to Debbi at Altadena Above It All for taking this fabuloso picture of the attendees at this afternoon’s Pasadena Blogger’s Picnic.

What’s with all those silly signs???

Pasadena Bloggers Picnic

Posted on 25. Aug, 2007 by kchristieh in my life

Just returned from the Pasadena Bloggers Picnic at Singer Park. I met some really neat people, and will include a list of their blogs when it’s emailed to me. Can’t wait for the next picnic!

Chalk festival in Pasadena

Posted on 16. Jun, 2007 by kchristieh in art

We had dinner at PF Chang’s in Paseo Colorado to celebrate my son’s 8th grade graduation, and had fun walking around afterwards to admire the sidewalk art at the 2007 Pasadena Chalk Festival. Here are some of our favorites. The festival continues through tomorrow.

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Newsweek’s ridiculous high school ranking system

Posted on 23. May, 2007 by kchristieh in articles, education, startling statistics

Here’s how Newsweek says it ranks America’s public high schools in this week’s issue:

Public schools are ranked according to a ratio devised by Jay Mathews: the number of Advanced Placement, Intl. Baccalaureate and/or Cambridge tests taken by all students at a school in 2006 divided by the number of graduating seniors.

What if a school has a high dropout rate? It wouldn’t be penalized by this system. In fact, getting rid of the kids less likely to take AP tests would increase a school’s ranking. Also, what if the kids that take the test don’t pass it? (Click here for the author’s explanation of his grading process.)

There are some surprises on the list regarding the schools in our area. Marshall Fundamental School (#123) in Pasadena ranks higher than Palos Verdes (#156), La Canada (#162), Corona del Mar (#237) or San Marino (#239).

The Newsweek ranking doesn’t jive with other data. GreatSchools.net says that Marshall’s average Academic Performance Index (API) score of 699 (with a state ranking of 6/10) is far below that of La Canada (898, 10/10). In fact, GreatSchools gives Marshall a 4/10 rating overall, but it gives La Canada a 9/10 rating. Also, the Pasadena Star News reports that Marshall’s AP pass rate is only 26%. (La Canada’s pass rate last year was 84%.) It looks like Marshall does an admirable job given the demographics of the kids it serves, but I think that Newsweek’s rankings are misleading.

By the way, here are a few surprising statistics from GreatSchools.net:

• La Canada spends $6,875 per pupil, but Marshall spends $8,460 per pupil.
• Average class sizes in grades 9-12 range from 30-36 in La Canada, and from 28-29 at Marshall.
• Percentage of English Language Learners: La Canada (2%, of whom 67% speak Korean); Marshall (12%, of whom 88% speak Spanish)

Great day at the Huntington Gardens

Posted on 09. Oct, 2006 by kchristieh in education, environment, my life, travel

Boohoo! The relatives have all left. This weekend my sister and her family, my stepsister and her family, and my father and stepmother all visited from far, far away. I miss them already!

One of the best things we did was to visit the Huntington Gardens on Saturday. The Sodexho-made lunch at the cafe was nothing special, but we quickly forgot about that when we started venturing out into the gardens. We typically come in the winter for my daughter’s birthday, so we were all happy to see how much more is in bloom now. The docents in the herb garden showed us great tea leaves, and the roses provided a great backdrop for pictures. I think there are twice as many koi in the Japanese Garden as ever, and the Chinese garden is looking terrific so far.

But the biggest hits were the Conservatory and the Children’s Garden. We’d never been to the Conservatory before, and were amazed at how lush it was and how fun and effective the interactive exhibits were. The Conservatory is divided into different sections: the Carnivorous Plant Bog, the Cloud Forest, the Plant Lab and the Tropical Forest Rotunda. It was perfect for my 9th grade daughter, who’s studying ecosystems in Biology. We saw a praying mantis climbing a pitcher plant (see picture) and got to see a cutout view of a bog. I especially loved the microscopic view of the moss in the plant lab, but my nieces liked the carnivorous plants the best.

Of course, the Children’s Garden was great for adults and kids. Lots of water, steam, sound and whimsy. I think it’s my favorite part of the gardens.

I’m looking forward to returning next weekend for the plant sale. Many of the plants I got in the spring are thriving and have turned out to be quite extraordinary, so I think I’ll try some more!