One Roll of Film - Four Photos - Five Months

My favorite self-portrait thus far,using a parking mirror

on Laurel Ave,West Hollywood.

I love the serendipitous red triangle created by the light leak/parking sign/car driving by and the picture within a picture/juxtaposition of the trees.

I'm a sucker for a pink octopus!

This weathered and rusty trunk had an old military address and was sitting unguarded in the back of a strange truck that was made from parts of different vehicles... I call it a Franken-truck. I really wanted to know what was inside, but I didn't tempt fate that day.

Who says you can't be an artist AND liberal AND bad ass?

From my first day ever at a shooting range, learning the responsible/right way

to handle a weapon. Still a pacifist though...

Until next time... Miss Absinthe

Ojai Impressions Thru My Diana Lens

Store-window self-portrait reflection

Horses patiently waiting outside the Ojai Cafe Emporium while their riders have Sunday brunch.

A metal sculpture that reminds me of Gaudi. I love public art.

This vintage mint convertible Renault was for sale!!! Very tempting...

I've never before seen dead fruit still hanging in a winter-dormant tree.

This lonely lock patiently waits for a purpose.

Until next time... Miss Absinthe

Ghostly Show in Ojai

Having some creative fun with the Mister in the Emerald Iguana Inn jacuzzi...

Love the results!

Until next time... Miss Absinthe

Love and Love and Love in Ojai

Ojai is my idea of the perfect weekend LA getaway:

• Less than a two-hour drive - gods willing
• No corporate chain stores/restaurants (far edge of town not included)
• Three thrift stores and a great antique store - perfect for treasure hunting
• One of the best used-book stores
• A lovely park in the middle of town and a clock tower that chimes the hours
• Trees Trees Trees
• Colorful flowers/cacti
• A decent mix of restaurants and a nice cafe
• Friendly locals and an artistic community
• Easy walkability
• Horses!!! They're everywhere. People even rode them to brunch! (pics to come)
• Great places/opps to take pics of with my Diana F+ plastic camera (film at lab)
• Quiet nights and quiet stars...

This was the perfect place to spend Valentine's weekend with Sweetie-pie...

Wandering and hunting for treasure...

Taking pics of this and that...

Exploring the stacks/aisles of the groovy indoor/outdoor (with a grapefruit tree growing in the middle) Bart's Books.

They have several shelves on the outside and rely on the honor system if they're closed!!! I love that.

Adding three vintage beauty how-to books to my collection...

Going through vintage pics (and listening to 40's big band) at Treasures of Ojai, two caught our eye...

And this vintage necklace was only $22!

A cool iced darjeeling...

Wearing the Free People top I got the day before for 50% off at my fave non-thrift store in Ojai, Chameleon. The very-nice owner is from London, has great taste and the best sale rack in town.

Then a few steps to the St. Thomas Aquinas Thrift Store for this never worn $3 top...

It was the perfect lazy romantic creative breath-of-fresh-air weekend...

Until next time... Miss Absinthe

Auto-Archeology or Digging For My Childhood on Ebay

There were two very obscure items from my childhood that left a lasting impression...

Sally Goes Shopping Alone (1940) tells of little Sally's adventures on her first shopping trip alone to the big department store in order to surprise her Mummy with a birthday gift, while getting her doll a bathrobe, new ribbons for her hair and a pair of rainboots! I used to read it at my grandmothers, but like many things, got lost somehow. To this day, this book influences how I prioritize my goals (shopping and otherwise) and reminds me how things will work out, even if it's not as planned. What's particularly fun is how knowledgeable and helpful the people who work in the large department store are, and how they would send any packages you couldn't carry to your home the next day!!!

Money Card (1972) may be why I still aspire to global bohemian jet-setting. You travel around Europe, with the goal of acquiring keys to the glamourous cities and if you have the "money card" you can charge your expenses!!! Nothing like teaching 7 year olds how to get into debt... albeit in a stylish and cosmopolitan way! The game belonged to a neighborhood friend, and I never found it anywhere else or met anyone who ever heard of it.

A couple of years ago, I got a yen to find both of these long-lost treasures, partly to see if I could find them at all, and you can imagine how tickled I was to discover them on Ebay and for cheap (especially since Ebay tends to be $$$ these days). Now they can continue to inspire and make me smile till the end of my days.

The only other thing left I wish I could find is this strange breakfast cereal-like stuff that I was given in early childhood, but never seen since. I think it had the name "concentrate" in the title, came in a small, metallic-papered box with a metal spout and was made up of very tiny flakes (not sure what grain, maybe corn). Seriously I wish I could remember more, other than I really liked the taste. Major golden karma to anyone who can point me in the right direction with this, though I think it may be impossible...

Until next time... Miss Absinthe