Coupe de Grace

Your Boulevardier is an habitue of the Village Barber Shop, but he acknowledges that there are many other places in the City of Lite to get one's hair done. One, on Redwood Road near Trader Joe's, sports this charming hand-painted sign.



The stark blue-black-orange color scheme, while unusual, works well for the sign, in Your Boulevardier's opinion. And the images themselves have an endearing retro style; perhaps they are an homage to Roy Lichtenstein. The upper haircut might be a portrait of movie idol George Chakiris, while the lower image could be a subtle appeal to the Mad Men crowd.

The building itself is, if Your Boulevardier recalls correctly, the former office of a Castro Valley real estate agent named Jem Angus. He was Your Boulevardier's first employer, paying this garçon a half-cent each to hang his advertising flyers on Castro Valley doorknobs. Perhaps that is when the love of walking our neighborhoods was first cultivated.

Fall is Flushed Away

Your Boulevardier snapped this photo of autumn leaves a few days ago -- before the big storms came in and swept away all reminders of fall, and told us in Castro Valley, in no uncertain terms, that winter is here.


Sure, the calendar may say that we still have a handful of days until the change officially hits. But the bare trees, overcast skies, and bitter cold -- especially in the mornings -- makes it clear that the deepest, darkest season is upon us.

Other reminders can be seen all over town. The reds, golds, and greens of the holiday have supplanted summer's yellows, oranges, and blues in shop windows. Furry Ugg Boots are footwear of choice, preferred over flip-flops and sneakers. Decorative lights along rooflines twinkle -- or don't, in the case of the LED variety that are now arrayed on Chez Boulevardier. Warming soups and coffee drinks have replaced cooling salads, smoothies, fro-yo and ice cream as the foods of choice.

Speaking of warm beverages, the Chabot Cinema will mark the season with an 11:30 p.m. showing of the Frank Capra classic, "It's a Wonderful Life," this Friday, December 18. Your Boulevardier hopes to be there, though he is not sure that the offer -- free hot chocolate with a large popcorn -- is good combination. Still, the $5 admission can't be beat.

Lady in Green

Your Boulevardier chatted ever so briefly with a charming young woman in front of Liberty Tax Service on Castro Valley Boulevard yesterday afternoon. She's a tax preparer by trade but had been drafted by her employer to don Lady Liberty's green robes and headdress and wave at passing vehicles. In lieu of a flaming torch, she held a festive red cup from Starbucks.

Wearing a big smile, she told Your Boulevardier: "I didn't expect so many people to smile and honk!"

A photo was surreptitiously snapped later on the walk, from the far side of the street. Kindly forgive the poor quality of the image.

CV Sanitary District's 2009 Calendar

Your Boulevardier has long cast an admiring eye on the Castro Valley Sanitary District's annual calendar. Arriving in the mail this time of year, it's an efficient bit of communication: a calendar, the district's annual report, and a showcase for the winners of its annual recycled art contest, all in one.

Normally, the latter item -- the contest winners -- are a bit of a letdown. Making art from trash is a great idea, but the execution thereof can easily be disappointing. However, in the 2009 calendar, Your Boulevardier is thoroughly impressed with several of the pieces, including the garbage truck by Luke Luebker, the Shoes by Lucas Chang, and the Crochet Plastic Bag Purse by Merle Gee.

But most marvelous is Café Kimono -- what appears to be a full-sized garment made of used coffee filters by Tami Lundberg. The range of hues and patterns created by the filters is lovely and organic. Ms. Lundberg clearly took a great deal of time to clean and sort the filters by tone and piece together the kimono in an aesthetically pleasing manner. Well done!

Images of the current winners (beautifully photographed by Castro Valley High School students, it should be noted) are not yet posted online. A stack of the calendars is at the post office, should readers be interested in getting a copy.

Triple-Take on Redwood Road

Your Boulevardier was driving (yes, alas, in a car) down Redwood Road the other day when the farthest-left window at Kay's Bridal Boutique caught his eye. Kay's is known, of course, for the lavish displays of formal gowns in its windows; it's a splash of elegance in a stretch of road that's desperately in need of same. But on this day, something in the window looked terribly wrong; it appeared that two elegant gowns were accompanied by a third outfit made of burlap and raffia.

Upon closer inspection, to the great relief of Your Boulevardier, the third "gown" was actually a seasonal scarecrow. But his size and position gave the impression, just for a moment, of a fantastic fashion faux pas being foisted upon Castro Valley's society set.

Postscript: Upon relating this mistaken identification to mon petit chou, she laughed and asked if Your Boulevardier had seen the episode of I Love Lucy in which Lucy and Ethel, on vacation in Paris, are duped by Ricky and Fred into wearing awful creations, thinking that they are designer gowns. (Episode 147.) He had not, but he correctly guessed the story twist that would follow: that the comical couture would become the toast of the town.