|
Writing the Range
February 8, 2010
Escape From Trouble
Wrap Yourself In Turquoise
The Pantone Color Institute has named Turquoise the Color of The Year. Pantone, sets the color standard for design and fashion industries, chose turquoise because it “evokes thoughts of soothing tropical waters and a languorous, effective escape from the everyday troubles of the world, while at the same time restoring our sense of well-being.”
Desert Rose in Turquoise
Turquoise comes in a wide range of blue and blue-green colors. Gazing upon it will not only lift your spirits but may transport you to a warm, tropical paradise.
Beat the “winter blahs” by adding a touch of turquoise to your favorite room. Wrap yourself in a turquoise scarf or sweater.
Starring Turquoise
This Valentine’s Day lift the spirits of your beloved with a gift of turquoise. It’ll be good for both of you!
Shop OutWest for gifts of turquoise, gift wrapping is always complimentary. Print our savings coupon found on HotSpotScv. Let us wrap up something special for the loves of your life. We ship the West to the World.
Brick: 24265 Main St., Newhall CA 91321 661.255.7087
Click: www.scvoutwest.com
January 21, 2010
ARTISTS AND RESIDENTS
COME OUT IN THE RAIN
Fine Art Photographer Frank Lozano
Santa Clarita Valley artists responded to the call to assist Old Town Newhall’s fundraising efforts by turning out in great numbers on Thursday. Arrriving at OutWest with umbrellas, raincoats, slickers, and big smiles they came with precious art work to donate for sale during Third Thursdays Art Walk. The proceeds of these sales were sent directly to the non-profit Three Angels Children’s Relief for Haiti’s many orphans.
Fine Art Photographer, Frank Lozano, kicked off the idea by generously donating 100% of the proceeds from the sale of any of his striking images of Haiti and its children. Lozano has been actively engaged with Three Angels for a number of years and has traveled there to assist many times. His dramatic, colorful, and storytelling images of Haiti, the West, and the World are on exhibit at OutWest.
Residents responded to Three Angels needs by coming out, mingling with Frank and the other artists, and carefully choosing special art pieces to add to their collections. An amazing $1300 was raised!
If you weren’t able to join us last night – come on down Thursday, January 28 from 5-9pm. The artists and their donated works will be available again for fundraising efforts. 10% of purchases made on-line or in-store at OutWest, now through January 28, will be donated to Three Angels.
______________
January 18, 2010
It's raining. Still. Hard. So hard at times I'm unable to see across the street. Windy. There's a film company working across the street - mock fight scene for "Justified." Don't know any other details, I'm sure they weren't expecting rain! A lot of filming goes on around us - quaint location and easy for the film companies to get to. OutWest is warm and cozy though, couple of candles burning. Almost feels like November in New England, I'm just as crazy about the rain as last night...though rain predicted -off and on-through next Thursday. Los Angeles cannot handle that much rain all at one time.
Martin Luther King Day - that's today. On this day in 1994 we experienced something we'll never forget. Pasadena residents at that time. Awakened in pitch black to unfamiliar sounds. "What's that horrible noise?" Took me several seconds to figure out that it was the screeching sound our walls made as they scraped up and down each other at the corners. "What's that other noise?" All the picture frames slapping against the walls. "And that?" Glass shattering, bookcases falling over, sliding balcony door shaking...sounds like one imagines demons make in a horror film.
We stumbled out of our warm bed, cautiously, and headed for our dining room table. Neighbors told us that would be the best place for us to "duck and cover." We grabbed our knees, and each other, and hunkered down. "How long will this last? How long did it go on before we awoke? Why is the table lamp in the entryway (a covered wagon lamp that was turned off when we went to bed) flickering on and off? Lord, oh lord, please put your angels around us, our neighbors, and our loved ones."
It stopped. An earthquake isn't like a tornado or hurricane. No warning. No prep time. Can come at any moment, when you least expect it. Like the grim reaper. One of the big questions, after the shaking stops is...do I move now? Do I wait? How long do I wait? When will the aftershocks start? How bad is the damage? Are we prepared for the aftermath? Phone ringing in the kitchen...who could be calling at this hour? Jim's Mom in Urbana, Ohio was watching the news and knew more about the quake than we did! She was calling to see if we were ok. Major aftershock hit as we stood in the kitchen, shaking, trying to sound calm and sunny so as not to worry her more. Phone went dead mid-conversation.
How dare the sky be blue and sunny! That our day sparkled in normal Southern California fashion was like a slap in the face. How could such life changing disaster happen and the sky be cheerful?? That was the oddest thought I had. I'm used to life on the ground being impacted by storms of the sky. Hurricanes, tornados, blizzards, Northeasterns, all these climatic events tie the sky and earth together. How could we weep and the sun shine?
Martin Luther King Day, praise God there wasn't the normal commuter traffic that day. Praise that it didn't happen 6 or 7 hours later when the malls would have been filled with holiday shoppers. I worked for Nordstrom at that time. The one in Northridge was destroyed. The Glendale store would open several days later and I was able to get into work the following day for clean up. Most of our staff couldn't get in. Many lived where we live now and their homes were in ruins, as was the major traffic artery to get them in.
I went in the next day. If I'd been at work that day, I probably wouldn't have survived. Our cash registers were on the ground, make-up tester units thrown across the aisle, glass shelves smashed. Up in our stockroom all the shelving units had toppled over. Some right onto our managers' desks - if they'd been at those desks they'd have been history. Men's display fixtures were in our department - clear across the floor. Although we'd lived here 3 years by then, and had experienced a small quake and a few aftershocks from earlier quakes I'd never seen anything like this.
Friend, Susie Allen, and I went to see The Driftwood Reunion Band last night. (MAGIC!!) In the rain. We both shared our memories of the 1994 Northridge Quake. She's been a longtime resident of the Santa Clarita Valley and lived through it. Lost her house, basically. The refrigerator fell over in the kitchen and had a leg of lamb in it. They were able to get it out and grilled it on their patio - fed a bunch of neighbors. Pool water was out of the pool and long gone. She was able to laugh about it now, in a bittersweet kind of way - the pain and hardship is past but the memories linger.
I'm thinking about our brothers and sisters in Haiti and my own brush with earthquakes. They are nasty, impartial, and terrifying. Like all disasters, though, we discover that we are more alike than not. They grab our attention, wherever they happen, and don't let go until reckoned with. We raise funds, volunteer our time, give away possessions out of our abundance, and cling to our loved ones. We are reminded of what is really important and how everything of this world is temporal. Why do we need such grand expressions to remind us of all this?
Grab your loved ones, right now, and tell them. Hug them close, tickle them to make them smile and laugh. Laugh til it hurts. Take out your best china, don't save it for company, feast on it everyday. Drink from your cherished glasses kept behind doors in the china cabinet. What "treasures" you have...enjoy or give away...don't hold them in reserve for that "special day." You just might not have the chance to enjoy them. Do it now!
_______________________
It's raining. For those of us in the parched, dry, often hot and windy Santa Clarita Valley rain is a blessing and a curse. Personally, I love it. Adore it. Ache for it during all the months it doesn't happen. Sometimes the newscasters tease us with the idea of rain...and it doesn't come. Sometimes they don't have an inkling...and it arrives. When we first here from the East Coast, on cloudy days I took an umbrella, as was my norm. Only to be scoffed at, "It's not going to rain! This cloud cover is just June Gloom. It'll be gone by 4:00 pm. How silly that you have an umbrella." "Ye of little faith," I would mutter to myself. They were right, it never rains in June.
The experts say it will rain All Week! In LA? This isn't Norwell, MA, or Danbury, CT, or Lewiston, ME, or Manlius, NY or any of the other places I've lived. A full week of rain in Los Angeles will cause complete havoc. It will delay commuters, cause mudslides in burn areas, flooding, fast water in the Los Angeles River channels, and all kinds of other challenges. I shouldn't yearn for it so. Yet, tonight after its first full day, I'm still relishing it's musical sound. The fragrance of rain in the air and the patterns it makes on the bronze Western Walk of Stars tile inserts outside our store door bring out the romantic in me.
In my youth we had the use of a rustic, summer cabin in the woods of western Connecticut. It had a peaked roof and simple, elegant yet rustic, design. I have never heard the sound of rain as melodic, enchanting, refreshing, and thirst quenching as the sound it made on that roof. More wonderful than any band or orchestra. Just rain on a roof in the woods. Nature's symphony.
"Rain, rain go away" has never been my song. By Wednesday it will be. Thursday is our monthly Art Walk and we have big, exciting plans for it. Our hearts are tied to those fighting for their very existence tonight in Haiti and we want, so intently, to assist them in some way. Prayer. Emotional support for loved ones here that have ties there. OutWest is offering 10% of sales...no one came in today, silence out there in cyberspace too. Well...one never knows about the weather, it's out-of-our control. All we can do is make the best of it. Encourage our friends and family to come out and join us Thursday - don't let the rain keep you away from life. Dance in it.
-BJB
Follow this link:
http://officialhotspotscv.wordpress.com/category/all-outwest
Once there, click the title of the blog to read for images and text
Thanks for Stopping By!
