How the King Got His Aire

I know many moons have passed since I've blogged. Alas, please forgive me. My whirlwind of a romance resulted in marriage. My first young-adult novel is complete - just waiting for the cover design to finish... no excuses though. 

I just added this audio for my story, "How the King Got His Aire" on youtube - 

thought you might want to give it a listen. Here's the link:

http://youtu.be/BCR6_rnzT3A

The story was first aired March 21st on David Bullock & Cathy Barker's radio program 

"The Story Mine" on KPCW Park City Utah. 

Teachers - if you're doing a study on homonyms, or if you're reading "pourquoi" stories as 

Rudyard Kipling used to tell, you may want to incorporate this story.

The front cover illustration was painted in watercolor by Christine Sutherland, the same artist that painted the cover of my story, "Twiga" (pronounced tweegah). csutherlandart.com

Hope you enjoy it! 

A Visit to the Greenhouse

A visit to the Greenhouse always takes me to another zone. I really would love to live among the exotic plants, but alas, pictures are my 2nd option. So here's a virtual tour for you narrated with the help of my green-thumbed daughter. You are now entering Tropicana.

Coming into this room during winter is ecstasy - about 80 degrees. 

Yes, this is a banana tree!

Those green things growing above the purple pod are... yep bananas! The purple leaves are shed to only reveal another stalk of the fruit. When these are ripe, I am fortunate to be given a gift now & again.

I have a plant in my kitchen - it needs re-potting & perhaps a few more plants for cross fertilization.

I especially love the succulents.

Sugar cane! The plant will sprout from the ridges on the stalk. 

A pot my daughter created while minoring in Art - Her/his hair is living. 

Ouch!

Anonymous 

A friend hears the song

in my heart and sings it to me 

when my memory fails. 

What's visiting L.A.... without shopping?

at the Galleria in Glendale

More than Graffiti - the Great Wall of LA

Graffiti was beginning to cover this wall behind the San Fernando Valley wash, and story goes that a group of LA Social, Art and City Planners, led by designer Judith Baca, conceived a better destiny for this space and for these budding artists. 

Over 400 community youth participated in the creation of this wall, between the '70s & '80s, which can be found on Coldwater Canyon Ave in Valley Glen. The Wall runs about 1/2 mile between Oxnard and Burbank Blvd.  

The history of California is well-documented in these paintings from pre-historic times to the 1980's, including scenes from the Gold Rush, the Spanish Conquest, both World Wars, the Citrus Industry, Indian Assimilation, Japanese Interment, Dust Bowl Refugees, the Birth of Rock and Roll, Jewish Arts and Sciences and women's roles of these times. Here's just a few of the paintings.