what's up?

paris

1954 chevy bel air

1954 chevy bel air

here in france for a few days, for the first part of this vacation. never been here, and finding it charming in an historic city way. not too difficult finding our way around, mostly because my kid and his wifey have been here before, and he is refering to maps on his phone to find routes to wherever.  i did not take french in school, but seem to understand a lot of words, and can pick my way through the menu well enough.

lots of walking, and discovering neither of my broken in shoes ar very good to my feet for these miles long marches across the city and back. one pair is attacking my big toe, as it slides forward a bit, and the other pair jammed my little toe into the next, as well as having got some sand in it from crossing a park.

but ignoring that, have seen a lot in two days, and contemplating whether i want to watch sunset from the observation deck of some tall skyscraper. i may just skip that tonight. seems more tough to get four people to agree on what to eat and when to eat it. our time zones are scrambled, but i am ok, but the others snack often then do not seem interested in a meal. 

taking lots of pictures, most will probably never be seen, but there are a few up in my instagram, for my mom and daughter to see. 

not seeing any classic cars here so far, unless we’re talking citroen and puegot. three wheel motorcycles (two in front) and vespas abound.

so, i’ll put up this good old chevy to tide me over for a while. from pomona a while back. since i’m gonna miss it tomorrow. and dia de los muertos in uptown. and huffarama at san manuel. le sigh... 


also, i have someone whose father was an original member of 13 gents car club, who recently passed away, looking for other original members that would talk with them. if you have any contacts, i would be happy to pass along info to them.

do not enter

con stilo bbq-4310And9morehdr.jpg
1963 chevy impala

1963 chevy impala

dad in the hospital again. mom and sister with him.

i'm exhausted but can't sleep. frequent updates help/don't help.

gotta photoshoot tomorrow at work--12 headshots. gotta put on a happy face and carry on. really hard for an introvert to get through more than a few, and this will be over two hours. oh well.  

---- 

can't remember; did i already post this one? last month, local little barbeque. shiny, black cars are easy to shoot.  

mfeo

whittier1-8327And9morehdr.jpg

my dad was happy to see me the other day.

middle of the night he was so sure that my sister had called to tell him that i’d been driving to whittier late at night with my daughter’s dog beast, and that i’d fallen asleep behind the wheel half way there. apparently i’d plowed into a divider at an off ramp, and both dog and me presumably died instantly.  

he had the phone in his hand and was going to call her back to see if it was a joke. then decided maybe he was just imagining it. 

my mom came upstairs to bed soon after, and was able to confirm it was just a really vivid dream. i guess a few days earlier it had been my sister’s turn, but i can’t remember how she met her fate. 

he has been hallucinating lately, probably a side effect of one of his meds.  doctor had him stop that med, so they are not happening as realistically anymore, hence he is able to stop and recognize it may just be all in his head. 

but still. i don’t remember most of my dreams anymore, but when i do, a lot of them do happen. deja vu? so i sort of don’t like that he’d told me about it.  

on the other hand, there is no reason i’d be driving up there with that dog, as he wouldn’t be allowed in the house. but i have driven southbound very sleepy before, and that isn’t good either. 

———- 

anyway, la patina and his friend here, parked in the lot behind the whittier cinemas a few months ago at the uptown car show. they seem to be made for each other, studies in rust, perseverence, and restoration.

though old, they get around easily, so probably didn’t need to park in handicap spot. 

if i’m there, i’m there

1954 bel air and 1958 impala

1954 bel air and 1958 impala

story of my life lately. gone are the days of three or four shows in one day. lucky if i get to one a week. 

last weekend there were a few bigger shows that would have been good, but timing didn’t work out. i did manage to get out to reality car club’s cruise at manny’s el loco.

me, and not even a dozen classic cars. pretty much shot them all. several times. no randoms going through the shots. even took time/stalled and went inside to eat.

i don’t blame people for not showing up, especially if they’d already been roasting under a hot sun all day. one person inquired online…seemed he didn’t even know about it. that might be the club’s fault.

anyway, made the best of the situation. these first two were my first two. a few more showed up afterwards. owners were hanging out behind them, out of the shot. seemed friendly enough. asked for cards, but sounded familiar with my m.o.

beautiful cars, that were there.

dark water

1950 chevy deluxe

1950 chevy deluxe

started my day off by walking into a spider web. nothing like doing the heebee jeebee dance at five in the morning, imagining a giant [1/2”] spider with a big bulbous ass is somewhere on you, pissed that you ruined his masterpiece and his breakfast.

days are flying by, and my poor pictures and blog are being neglected. stuff happens, and i gotta pick my priorities. these fall pretty low lately. 

only have time now because my kid’s doberman is currently occupying the bed at my mom’s house, and i haven’t taken the time to move him off. my hair needs to dry anyway. 

i’ve been spending the last few days here, cleaning my mom’s carpets with our carpet cleaning machine. third day, and my back is feeling all the carrying of the water and the clean up. moving furniture is fun too. not. they have too much stuff. gonna need help moving the couch and other big stuff, but she seemed more concerned with the main paths through the rooms.  

i thought her carpet in the front room was brown, but it’s really a ninteen-seventies orange on the deeper side. yep, original stuff. and never cleaned, only vacuumed. let me tell you, the water tanks on the machine are pretty black when i dump the water out of the machine.

did a patch in the back room today. lime green carpet. lovely. 

other than that, i’ve got too much going on at work, and an unplanned vacation to prep for. totally, just now realizing that i’m gonna be out of the country for several of my favorite car shows, my eleven-year anniversary, and my kid’s birthday. go me. not my fault.  i’m just along for the ride on someone else’s trip.

anyway, gotta get some sleep. looking back, found this picture of a car from the viejitos’ carshow a couple of years’ ago now. 

thought it was a pretty car, and parked off out of the way for a bit, so got a few shots while there was the opportunity. 

one show

1949 chevy deluxe

1949 chevy deluxe

for a holiday weekend, i only hit up one show, err, barbeque. was meant to be a quick stop and shoot, as my better half had to get out and get some stuff done, and i was meant to watch his mother while he was out.

it was overcast in the morning, so worked for me, keeping the heat at bay, though it seemed humid, but that could totally just have been me.

as it was, she had a heart thing happen while i was out, so i cut my visit short, missing out on the offered ribs, chicken and potatoe salad. she ended up being fine, and let's hear it for nitroglycerin tablets. saved us an evening at the hospital.

anyway, everyone was friendly, and didn't mind me shooting their cars. felt a little awkward invading a bbq, so i asked if they minded first. i saw some familiar faces and cars, so it was all good anyway.

i believe this was the car belonging to the lady that came over to inquire if i post my pics, as i was packing my bag to leave. up close, there is some microscopic glitter in the black paint, though hard to see at this size/this distance.

sun came out by the time i got home, so timing worked out anyway.

one of those weeks

1954 chevy bel air

1954 chevy bel air

rubys 1-3254And9morehdr.jpg

ever feel like you've just gotten through a week, and get shook up and dumped out onto the weekend? but you made it?

ya, that's the one.

getting spread a bit thin, pulled here and there. getting worn, but no where as tired as my better half.

dad was in the hospital again, to start the week off. busy at work. kid had a perfectly timed meltdown when i had the least inclination to deal that hot ball of fun.

my other kid has plans to go to europe, with the wifey, his dad, and her mom. sounds like his dad is going to drop out. he's asking if i want to take a free trip. i dunno. a vacation would be nice, but can i be gone that long? i just don't know. offered up my brother, but they kinda aren't into taking him. 

so i'll keep thinking about it, until his dad makes a decision.

at least i've got a wall back up in the kitchen. just no cabinets. or sink. 

labor day weekend. maybe i can sneak off to a show or two, get my ya yas out.

------

talked to the owner of this car for a bit. nice convo. he was heading south to la vuelta in san diego the next day. sounded like fun, i'd have gone if i was able.

liked the  airbrushing of the gas can, which he was particularly proud of, as it had just been done.

where is everybody?

1957 chevy bel air nomad

1957 chevy bel air nomad

decided to break up the monotony that is going on for the time being, flitting back and forth between my parents' and whittier, then a few days at my house moving boxes around, and cleaning carpets.

i'd taken my camera with me on friday morning, so that i could hit a show on the way home in the evening. of the three i could pass by on the way, i decided to go to ruby's in whittier. hadn't been there since last summer.

i do realize it would be lightly attended, compared to the first and last show of the season, but i'd never ever seen it so sparse, though i arrived around five pm. of the two aisles that they had blocked off, there were only a few cars parked within. at least for about an hour. it never really did get full like previous years, but that did allow me some ability to get shots i wouldn't have had there been cars crammed together, and a zillion people in the way.

more of the type of cars that i liked did show up eventually, but at the beginning, i wandered around up near the ruby's building.

saw this chevy over by the raffle table. didn't quite get low enough to hide the car next to it, but it is still ok. decided not to just shoot a typical angle, as these bel airs get a little boring after a while.

ponderings

1948 chevy fleetmaster

1948 chevy fleetmaster

as i was walking uptown to get a quick dinner, i had a thought bounce around my head. i haven't been to many car shows lately because i haven't been feeling good. should i really be thinking, i'm not feeling good because i haven't been to many car shows lately?

also, i've had to go to the market and drugstores a few times this past week. i don't feel the need to park as close as possible to the store doors.

i am finding it somewhat thrilling to walk the parking lot slalom: the midday heat has people sitting in their cars, motors running, air conditioning on. the exciting part is guessing which cars are actually going to back up on you, and which are just lazy a-holes waiting on significant others to walk the short distance from the store entrance.

the store would be far more cool, and your engine wouldn't have to work so hard, if you just get out of your dang car.

sold one of my fair pictures. i don't make money off of them when they do sell at the fair. i prefer to let them go at cost and enjoyed, than to have them piling up in storage. or only enter pictures i wouldn't mind having on my wall. but then, i do...i just don't have enough wall.


someone asked if i'd taken a picture of this convertible, after they'd seen it in the distance of another shot. yes i did, so i dug it up for them. pretty sure i've posted from other shows in the past.

dankness

1948 chevy fleetline

1948 chevy fleetline

nice fleetline from a few months back. car show at salinas tires. too many cars for the little parking lot, so this was further on down by the no-tell motel. don’t care that there are imperfections; they just make it more interesting.

—————

been here and there, no time or energy left to write much. but i do observe, and if my mental notes don’t disappear from my head, i can usually pull some random topic out of my a$$. 

currently at my condo, where there is no kitchen and no water, but at least there is no more mold in the wall from a pipe leak months ago. goobers said they were done for now and that the house key was under the mat. thanks captain obvious. would have preferred they toss it in the back yard. so had to drive out here for that. time to change the locks anyway.

they say there is another slow leak that needs a plumber’s attention, before they put things back together again. just don’t know if the hoa will pay for that or if i have to. which means more time out of the office because the lock box is gone.

at least the plastic breaking bad “meth lab” drapes are gone from where the kitchen was, and instead, i have plastic covered framework where a wall used to be. and a bucket for the slow leak.

this would be a second weekend with my kid unable to stay here with the beast. she tried, but unfortunately discovered that without running water, the toilet would not flush, after an unfortunate situation, if you know what i mean. her friend was there, so she had used the bathroom in my room, to top it off.

her dad told her to fill the tank with water, but i guess she only put a gallon, so was unable to flush the evidence. and left it there. she called to let me know, and apologized, as she was late for work. 

fine. i go over the next day to see if it would actually flush, which it did when enough water is in there. i was worried that she put water in the bowl vs the tank, which i still suspect she did, since the tank was pretty dry.

i noticed a smell coming from her room. a stench that wrankles the nasal passages. 

now, her shit didn’t stink, so what was it? was one of her other critters dead in their cage, a desiccating carcass?

first thought was that the dog had pinched one in there. he’d done it the week before. maybe he’d done it again. too stupid to let you know he needs to go outside if you don’t see him gazing longingly at the door.

but no. it’s worse.

hiding in that bathroom is a bowl of the foulest of the foul, even andy dufresne would not swim out of shawshank in it. really permeating, like it had stewed for days.

the snakes were not loving it. the tarantulas could care less, being that they don’t really move all slithery and such.

i make some calls. 

kid swears she didn’t do it. friends swears they didn’t do it. which leads me to believe one of the kitchen worker bees took a dump knowing the water is off, and forgot about it. wtf. wtf is he doing upstairs? there’s a toilet downstairs. 

holding my breath as i fill the tank. standing by with a plunger, as that toilet likes to back up if you use too much paper, and i don’t know what might be under all that.

on the other hand, what am i to do if it does start pouring over the lip of the bowl? towels, i’d build a dam with towels before it got to the carpet. 

luckily, i didn’t have to shift to plan b. down it went, but the smell lingered. i hate lysol, but i had to spray that stuff in the room, past the sink, into the main bedroom. the snakes were going crazy for the lemon scent. 

opened the window, air conditioning be damned. 

really hoping they do a follow up survey on the quality of their work. “a” for effort. 

so today, hot and humid, with smoke from the fire drenching the sky and surroundings in an eerie tan color, i had to go shower at the pool in a bathing suit. took a swim first, which was lovely, as i haven’t used the pool in a year or two.

guess i’ll brush my teeth with bottled water, and hope the burrito i ate earlier stays put.