Griffith Observatory

Griffith J. Griffith was born in Wales in 1850, came to the U.S. as a teenager and eventually made his fortune in Mexican silver mines and subsequently, California real estate. He had visited public parks in Europe and decided that in order to become a great city, his hometown, Los Angeles would need a great public park. In 1896, he donated 3,015 acres to the City of Los Angeles.  

Griffith became interested in astronomy and in 1912, he offered the City of Los Angeles and additional $100,000 for an observatory to be built on top of Mount Hollywood.

Griffith realized that the observatory would not be completed in his lifetime and set up a trust to continue his vision. The depression era made the finest materials available at a reasonable cost.

The formal dedication of the Griffith Observatory took place on May 14, 1935.

from an article by Christopher Hansen, Melanie Wang and Anthony Cook.

Going, going...

Another summer is flying by. Every year I have such high hopes for my garden. I've been in this house now 18 years and a wonderful (or even above average) garden still hasn't happened. The first year I lived here there were two big patches of Hens n Chicks. Over the years they kind of faded away... I actually did a little weeding this year and look what I found!! This is the inspiration I need to say, "just wait until next year!".

This is a quilt photo that Cyndee took at the Ann Arbor show. At work they are trying to liven up the work space (and squeeze in 30 more people) with more rows of cubes and bright colors - lime green, Home Depot orange and a deep teal the painters call Lagoon. I think this quilt could be my inspiration for a wall hanging to go in my new (smaller) space and would work well in the new color scheme.