Mountain Views News          Saturday, July 23, 2016

Mountain View News Saturday, July 23, 2016 

Walking Sierra Madre…The Social Side



by Deanne Davis 

The Natural – The Library’s Pick For The Sierra
Madre One Book, One City Book!
By Bernard Malamud – Paperback at Amazon:
$8.98 or Kindle $9.99 
Best novel about baseball ever written, say the
reviews. 


This is such a great idea for communityinvolvement. When you’re sitting out at Beantownor Starbucks, having your morning latte, you canask the guy next to you, “So, how ya liking TheNatural,” and they’ll say, “huh?” and you can talkabout the One Book, One City and feel superiorbecause you know about it and they don’t! But yagotta get the book!

There’s a nifty new store on Baldwin, 26 North,
to be specific. It’s Petunia’s, owned by Karen Byrneand staffed by Marsha McBurney. Their grand 

of our own personal mountains...the Petunia’sperspective.

Have you stopped by City Hall to see the ArtExhibition of W. Jack Savage’s work? It willbe hanging till August so you don’t have a lotof time. My fellow art enthusiast, John, and Istopped by this week, taking a few extra minutesto admire the drought resistant gardens, whichare doing so well. We put in our own succulentgarden this week with just a few plants to startand some big rocks we found lying about in thefar reaches of our yard. Looks good and theseven roses they replaced will no longer tortureme with their totally uncooperative attitude!

Leaving the gardens behind, we spent a pleasanthalf hour looking at Jack’s work which is framed,
matted, original acrylic paintings, uniform in size 


opening was yesterday and I see an exciting futureahead for Petunia’s. You’ll find some really niceoriginal art, including the painting shown here(Marsha on the left and Karen on the right), whichis huge and gorgeous, an original oil by Lim Hall,
of Paris back in the horse and buggy era, sightingdown the Blvd. des Invalides to the Eiffel Tower. 
The colors are exquisite and it’s got to be 8’ long by5’ high. Look for the fantastic screen/room dividerin front and some Asian art pieces in the backmy mother would have swooned over - her wholehouse was a trip to China and Japan. Petunia’s hasclothing that is charming, beautiful and would fitmost of us. Jewelry – all original pieces, some hairornaments people who have longer hair would justlove, along with rhinestone decorated baseball hatsthat are perfect for those days when the hair reallydoesn’t need to be seen. They’ve got some uniqueHawaiian shirts for guys, too.

Karen’s goal with Petunia’s is to provide aplace with a sense of peace. As her passion iswhat she calls, “good old American stuff,” that’sexactly how you feel when you walk in the door,
peaceful. Karen says she’s not a decorator, shejust puts things where they fit, like the baker’scabinet in the corner full of those hats. You’ll 
find Henredon wing chairs, a Tiffany-stylelamp, some stunning antique plates and silvertrays that would give your next event a veryclassy look. Petunia’s is an eclectic collectionof fine furniture, art and apparel. Some of theitems in Petunia’s have traveled from Maine and 
New Jersey to provide a sense of peace right herein Sierra Madre. Come in and take a look, sit out 
at the umbrella table in front and enjoy the view 

at about 10 x13, priced at $65/each. We especiallyliked “Not For The Weak,” a work featuringvultures perched on a barren tree atop a granitemountain with a field behind it of deep orange-red.
Hades came to mind. Also really liked “DancingWith That Tall Girl Downtown,” which showed 
two abstract figures, dancing, before a field ofyellow, and “Only In My Dreams,” showing tinypeople on a street scene. Great colors, excitingcompositions. Take a look! Mr. Savage has led aninteresting life as a broadcaster, actor, educator,
author and a prolific artist. We so admire peoplewho can successfully make a difference in a varietyof life opportunities. Go on in there and say hi toSelena and all those nice folks in there working tokeep Sierra Madre on track. The art exhibit is onthe back wall. 

Got a kid’s birthday coming up? Village Pizzaon Baldwin next to Beantown is still doing theirkid’s pizza cooking class for birthday parties. It’s$16/child with a minimum of ten people. They gethats, aprons, a pizza diploma, a personal pizza withtwo toppings, a dessert pizza and drinks. Now Iask you...where can you get a great party like thatwhere you don’t have to clean, shop, cleanup, dealwith the kid who’s bored, and your own little chefcan teach you how to flip pizza dough. You can calland make your reservation: 626-355-8817. Theyhave terrific salads, too, for the parents. Stay cool,
friends and neighbors!

My book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis 
Blog: www.authordeanne.com

 “Tablespoon of Love, Tablespoon of Laughter” isavailable there… 
An excellent wedding gift, by the way! 

TURF REBATES STILL AVAILABLE THROUGH 


STATE PROGRAM 

Rebates of up to $2,000 are still available forremoving turf and replacing it with water-wiselandscapes through a program administered bythe California Department of Water Resources.

The $24 million program budget is expected tosupport the conversion of more than 10 millionsquare feet of turf, or approximately 20 percent ofthe statewide goal of 50 million square feet of turf. 

Up to $2 per square foot of removed and replacedturf will be rebated per eligible household. Thetotal rebated amount, including any rebates thehomeowner has already applied for from anotheragency, can’t exceed a total of $2 per square foot. 

For more information visit www. 
saveourwaterrebates.com. 


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com