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Blog archive

September 2026

August 2026

Triumph Over Tragedy
08/31/2026

Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained/Lost
08/30/2026

A Gallery of Neighbors: The Village Art Group’s Group Show
08/28/2026

A New and Improved Way to Stay Safer Online
08/28/2026

A Trip to The Geffen Galleries
08/28/2026

Barrier Free Living - A Path to Living a More Independent Lifestyle
08/28/2026

Conversations with Art
08/28/2026

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
08/28/2026

Member Connections with Music Conductor Bill Bing
08/28/2026

Pasadena Heritage Walking Tour
08/28/2026

In Their Hands
08/23/2026

Ease of Being: Managing the stuff of everyday life
08/20/2026

A Tribute to Fire Debris Remediators and Their Super-Sized Dump Trucks
08/18/2026

Really Irene?
08/15/2026

There Is A Risk
08/09/2026

2026 Year in Review
08/03/2026

A Message From Your Newly Elected President
08/03/2026

Neighborhoods Within the Village
08/03/2026

Reflection from PUSD Intern Isabella "Izzy" Roberts
08/03/2026

Reflection on Service & Joy from 2025/26 President Dick Myers
08/03/2026

The Villager Engagement Team Welcomed 54 New Villagers
08/03/2026

Treasurer’s Report
08/03/2026

What Activity! The Cultural Activities Team Report
08/03/2026

An Even Exchange
08/01/2026

July 2026

June 2026

May 2026

April 2026

March 2026

February 2026

January 2026

My Home For Now

By Karen Bagnard
Posted: 03/30/2026
Tags: la fires

My home for now is compact and comfortable.  There are beautiful views out all ten windows, as well as the sky light above the shower that brings the top of the old oak tree into view.  The storage is perfect for my few possessions.

My work table is just large enough to accommodate my creative meanderings.  If I need more space, I move it out my garden door to the shade of the oak.

My donated chairs and my white sofa offer seating for any visitors who come over.  My two-room bathroom serrves as an art station as well as a coffee station.  The door next to the sink leads directly outside to a private walk to the lawn and the oak tree.

Ceramic pots salvaged from my incinerated home have been replanted with succulents and live outside my east windows.  The scorched ceramic frog that belonged to my father and lived in my garden for many decades after he passed was also saved and sits between the pots of succulents.

The tin tub that I remember from childhood and that served as a pool to my kids when they were toddlers, leans up alongside the house, waiting to he returned to a new home in Altadena.

Outside there are lawns, gardens, a large shady porch and a lovely deck that overlooks a pristine pool.  There are bird songs of all kinds and, at this time of year, the honking of low-flying geese.

My closest neighbor lives at the other end of the hall with three large rooms between us.  She is the lovely woman who allowed me to move in after the fire.  We were strangers then and only had the Pasadena Village in common.  We are as close as sisters now.  She has said I can stay for as long as it takes to rebuild my home.

I have all the comforts of home.  I have had parties and dinners and meetings here.  She and I have joined our families for Ffourth of July and for Christmas celebrations.  We’ve entertained Villagers together and  become friends with each other’s friends.

My home for now is the very best a home could be.  My home for now offers me a place to create, to heal and to enjoy my life.  I am filled with gratitude.

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