what's up?

death becomes her

i find myself spending at least one day each weekend in san diego lately. so, a quick revisit to last year’s chicano park show is in order.

get there early. less people. sunrise shots. no interruptions.

viejitos always seem to park at this end of the street, near the basketball court. no doubt i’ve taken pics of these cars in previous years. just liking the sunrays behind the hood ornament on this lovely packard.

drove my mother, sister, and older brother down very early this morning to visit my younger brother in the hospital. was a beautiful sunrise over the waterways down towards del mar. the bluish cloud layer in the sky gave way to a bright orange sun and some unusual orange rays…not the typical god rays…but somehow nicer.

found out the other day, that they will be sending him to hospice in the next couple of days.

i had visited last week, in the afternoon, and he was already sedated, so i mostly did what older sisters do to little brothers—poked him, flicked his leg, called his name, trying to get some flicker of recognition from him. he half opened an eye, but that was about it. left after a couple of quiet hours.

we went first thing this morning, hoping to catch him awake and/or before they knocked him out. success. had an lovely, and emotional visit for a couple of hours. he was unable to do much, but we did get him talking a bit, cracked some jokes, got him to smile a little. dredged up old memories from childhood and his days in the navy. got some sips of juice into him. he started drifting off to sleep, so we said our goodbyes, promising to be back.

at the same time we were entertaining my brother, my better half was up in northern california, with his sister, in a hospital.

unfortunately, she passed away, soon after he arrived to her room this morning, almost as if she had waited for him. she was surrounded by family, and went peacefully.

perhaps he will write about it on his own blog. perhaps he’ll ask me to edit my post.

she was well-loved, and will be missed by many.

improving

here’s a packard we saw at a fundraiser in los angeles back in march. it rained that day, off and on. still some sprinkles on the fenders of this one. didn’t rain hard enough to scare us away, but did bag the camera a couple of times.

small show, but some lovely cars were there. space was tight, and some cars had a difficult time driving in, or for a few that had to leave early, getting out.

been a while since i looked through recent photos. two weeks since i bonked my head on the pavement. glue still holding my forehead together, but should be disintegrating little by little. still have a few appointments lined up, to be sure everything else checks out, but i am very lucky, it could have been so much worse.

vision is a little blurry, but i have a big monitor, so it’s not so bothersome. my arm is a bit weak, so carrying a camera and tripod around isn’t going to happen for a while. missed out on huffarama yesterday, so bummer.

my daughter has been working at the texas state fair for the past month, doing henna painting. today is the last day. she is so over it, and ready to come home. hopefully she made enough money to make it worth it, but i think the experience was worth it at least once. her birthday is coming up, but she’ll still be on the road with her friend, her dogs, and her tarantula. safe travels and happy birthday, my girl.

weekend in riverside

here’s a brief selection of images from the riverside show and go last weekend. started with friday evening cruising around several blocks of downtown riverside, followed by more of the same and competitions on saturday. i have a few more pics, i or my better half promised to upload…as soon as i can get the time.

compared to the last time i went, this show had more than expected. lots of cars that i was interested in, to balance out the newer cars and hot rods that i could care less about. saturday’s cars overflowed the streets. i think they may have actually sold out, with six hundred cars cruising and parked along the route.

since we stayed at a local hotel, we were able to come and go as we wanted. it also allowed me to skip the sunrise shooting i’d typically want to get, since we’d gotten the sunset pics the night before.

better half ended up staying in the hotel on saturday while i went out, as he’d hurt his back. he literally couldn’t move without searing pain. figured it was best to just let me go and get my ya yas out, before it got too hot. he waited for the ibuprofen to kick in, but it really didn’t help. think he has a slipped disc.

we took it easy for the afternoon, when it really got too hot for me to deal with at the show.

got up early on sunday, and out of the parking garage, just before the gate guard got there…free parking for the weekend! yippee. and off to see a doctor…

best in show

i've read that this little red packard won best in show the other day.

i took several pictures early in the day and one later in the afternoon. i liked the early morning shots better. i just couldn't decide if i liked this side or the the other, showing the spare wheel.

strange thing i noticed in the other shot, was that each hub cap is from a different type of packard. i suppose it's difficult to find a complete set for the same type and year. so as long as it says 'packard' all is good.

i liked the reflections on the door; this side a deluxe; on the other side, a special deluxe.

bought a boiled egg early this morning, out foraging for bfast at five am. turned out it was a dud of a sort. the shell didn't want to come off in one piece; the membrane underneath didn't either. by the time i got back to my desk, it had what looked like the lunar surface, but in white.

then the yolk inside, wasn't light colored and fluffy, but deep golden yellow and not quite fully cooked.

so, does that mean they didn't cook it long enough, too long, or was the egg too fresh or too old? i'm still alive to note this late in the afternoon, so i guess it wasn't spoiled.

packard

back in whittier for a few hours. don't think i'll stay the night. stopped to say hey to the better half, grab some clothes, write this post. too late to hit up a picnic show in montebello, or is it?

leaving also means i'll miss the show over in la puente tomorrow...decisions decisions. i have a headache...probably caffeine related.

couldn't post this set of images from the app, without losing the format, so i'll just do it now, while i'm at the computer.

don't know why i shot this car, since the hood was up, and no one asked me to. probably because i was running out of cars i wanted to shoot at this small show.

don't get me wrong, it's a lovely car, i just don't like hoods up. but the hood ornament...love those, whenever, wherever...

after eight

1936 packard eight

went uptown for dinner. traffic was slightly lighter today, even in spite of passing a rear-ender with ambulance on scene on the freeway—there was no backup of lookyloos for a change, everyone just kept on moving on. people must already be staying home and/or traveling for the holiday.

spent the evening with my better half, talking about his day, my day, this, that, and nothing.

back home, it's almost nine, and i haven't started playing with pictures yet, and not sure i want to stay up to work on one. i am waiting on some laundry, so maybe...

i've shot this packard most everytime i see it. i think this one is my favorite so far. probably just that sun flare that's doing it for me this time.

wings and a prayer

1959 chevrolet impala

came across this impala in the midst of things. i just love the back of these cars, and usually don't pass up the opportunity to take a shot.

usually, i pull in close, up and under those fins. i did that with this one too, but just didn't get an angle i liked. this picture, pulled back a bit, still showed the curves that i want, and gives it a sense of it's place in the world, the variety of makes and years represented at the show.

is it my eyes, or does it still look a little dark? maybe it's my monitor.

early bird

most shows we go to have a posted drive in time and start time. but the host club is usually there beforehand to set things up, traffic, trophies, organizing stuff.

that means, to us, anyway, that there is always a guarantee of something to shoot if you get there early.

start time this morning was seven. my better half looked at the time stamp from last year's photos, which said about six-thirty, and it was already getting busy.

so this time, we figured the sun rises by six now, we'll get there before that. we did. about five-thirty. still dark. stores closed. laundry mat didn't even open until six. supposed to rain, but not until afternoon.

drove down the street, just to make sure the no parking signs were up, and that the thing hadn't been cancelled. they were, so we went back around and parked in the parking lot. we chatted about nothing, watched the sun come up, the lady open the laundry, and several women arrive with loads of wash with their choice of machines.

probably about six-thirty we heard the first sputtering engines in the area, and then a few cars arrived. finally. so we got out, unpacked and shot the few that were there.

then the clubs started to show up slowly. originals got there first. clouds came and went, and came back again. we had missed the sunrise, but the skies were making up for it.

weather was the way, i wish it would be all summer. not too hot, not too cold.

saw many people and many cars we've seen before. took time to chat with people, since the light was interesting, and not quickly changing to full sun.

i don't remember seeing this car ever. nice to be suprised once in a while. really beautiful. i caught it before they moved it. and then, only moved it to face the opposite direction, to mirror another packard behind me.

i liked this shot, with the sky, and from this direction, with few other cars, and definitely not the lightpost in the way.

hamster

there's a speaker thingy from ye olde tymey drive-in theatres hanging on this perfectly fine packard. would there really have been a packard sitting at a drive-in with a speaker thingy hanging on the door? not even of the same era are they? hell, where's the food tray? i want popcorn.

i like the hood ornament and the coon tail.

----

i've been letting my hair grow out for the last year, just to see how long it might get. it's getting a bit shaggy looking, so i was going to have the ends trimmed a bit. last time i wanted a cut and a color, it had been several months since i'd gone in, and the stylist i liked was no longer there. didn't even let me know. maybe she doesn't do hair anymore.

so this time, i was going to see my back up stylist, one that i'd gone to off and on for over a decade. called the salon, and the guy says she hasn't worked there for months. wtf. so now, i don't know where to go.

sure seeing another stylist besides your usual stylist is sort of like cheating, being double-dumped sucks. fine. i hate going in for a hair cut anyway. hate having to fake small talk with a practical stranger. it's like repeatedly going on awkward dates every once in a while.

and as long as i'm bitching about girl stuff. i hate shopping. i hate clothes shopping specifically. not a teeny bopper anymore, not that i ever was, and i'm not old enough for those polyester pants for the double-wide, though i'm starting to look like my mom more every day. can't stand any of the clothes in my closet, but can't seem to pick out anything at the store that fits or that i like, and doesn't feel like a cheap dishrag.

i guess i'm just in a mood. maybe i'll just try to sleep. hell of a week at work, and more coming. hamster on a wheel, man. hamster on a wheel.

chicken

i've shot this car before. and i see it often parked out in front of his business, when i pass by on the way home. sometimes think about stopping and shooting it up against the brick background, but then chicken out and/or don't have the camera with me. something about invading their personal space, when they're not at a show.

his buddy armando said i should just go ahead and stop...he'd love it. i guess that'd be the case of most owners—to have more pictures of their cars and people that admire their pride and joy, right?

everyone, except richard, of course.