Swimming Lessons (2014)

Greta started her third year of swimming lessons this week — hard to believe she's been doing anything for three summers already, but she has — and though I still have some issues with the cleanliness of the pool's locker room and outdoor shower area, so far, things are going great.

Her teacher is very cool, the class size is much smaller than last year (there are six kids in her class versus last year's whopping 12-14!) and best of all, the pool finally got some chairs for parents to sit on. I've noticed that you have to get there kind of early to score a chair, but, hey, if that's what it takes, I'll be there before roll call every day!

Anyway, as you can imagine, I'm taking loads of pics every day (from the comfort of my awesome new deck chair!) but, this one seemed to sum up the unbridled joy of summer swimming lessons better than all of them combined, so…enjoy!

 

Posted with Blogsy

“Country: Portraits of an American Sound” at the Annenberg Space for Photography

Last weekend, we headed to the Annenberg Space for Photography in Century City to check out their spanking new exhibit, “Country: Portraits of an American Sound” and lemme tell ya, it kicked ass. Seriously, even people who don’t like country music will enjoy the very cool array of photographs on display. And if you love old school Grand Ole Opry stars like Ernest Tubb, Loretta Lynn, George Jones and Patsy Cline as much as we do, well, prepare to be dazzled.

Featuring work from a number of photographers covering the country music scene in Nashville and beyond, the show spans the post WWII period straight on through to today. One of Greta’s favorite shots was a very recent portrait of that little firecracker Kasey Musgraves. Musgraves took home the Grammy for Best Country Album earlier this year for her boot-stompingly good major label debut “Same Trailer Different Park.” And of you haven’t heard her music yet, well…you will!

My favorite pic was the insanely cool Tammy Wynette shot featured on the poster below and an action pic of Loretta Lynn jumping for joy after hearing that she’d been asked to join the regular cast at the Opry. Classic! And if you love Johnny Cash like we do, there are some great photos of him through the years as well. Honestly, every photo in the show is amazing and the documentary the Annenberg produced in conjunction with The Country Music Hall of Fame is positively riveting. Seriously good stuff all around.

And those with wee ones will appreciate the show’s super cool hidden item game which encourages kids to find items from a brochure in the photos on display. Greta loved it and actually, it was fun for adults too. In fact, some of the items were so difficult to find that we had to ask for help.

So, if you live in the area (and even if you don’t!) get thee to the Annenberg Space for Photography and check out this little gem of a show for yourself. The cost of admission is free and parking, with museum validation, is only one dollar. So, how can you lose?

I should warn you though, this show will fuel your desire for country jams like never before, we’ve been playing nothing but Dolly, Emmylou Harris and Porter Wagoner all week…it’s been awesome!

Greta’s Holiday Haircut

Believe it or not, it’s been nine months since Greta last got her hair cut. We were keeping it long for my sister’s wedding in September, and then I guess we just kind of forgot about it when the holiday insanity set in. So, last weekend, we headed to Floyd’s 99 Barber Shop for what has now become Greta’s semi-annual haircut.

And though her favorite hairdresser, Miss Rose, was no longer working there, a very cool gal named Ashley did a bang up job on Greta’s hair. So, everything worked out fine. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of the finished product (except for the last shot below, where it’s mostly hidden by her hood!) but I did get lots of pics of Greta in Ashley’s chair. So, enjoy!

Oh, and if you live in the are and are looking for a cool, inexpensive place to get your kid’s haircut, I highly recommend Floyd’s. They might not have little airplane seats and stuff for the wee ones, but, they have a chill, rock ‘n roll vibe, are super friendly and Greta loves all the music posters and stuff on the walls. Floyd’s has locations all over L.A., so, find one near you and check them out. And in the meantime, enjoy the pics!