PARADE OF LIGHTS: The annual Mission Bay Parade of Lights is scheduled to sparkle along the water. Page 6 Weekend Surf Report
Surf Conditions (619) 221-8824
SATURDAY DEC. 5
Hi: 10:39 a.m. Low: 4:22 a.m. & 6:02 p.m.
A NEW GREENROOM: Pacific Beach Surf Shop is community conscious. Page 14
SUNDAY DEC. 6
Surf: 2-3 ft. Wind: 0-8 knots
Hi: 12:47 a.m. & 11:35 a.m. Low: 5:28 a.m. & 6:55 p.m.
Surf: 2-4 ft. Wind: 6-14 knots
Thursday, December 3, 2009
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Miniature worlds PB company builds custom dollhouses and other tiny items: a collector’s dream
Dec. 9 meeting at MBHS gives public a voice in budget discussion BY ANTHONY GENTILE | BEACH &BAY PRESS
As the San Diego Unified School District faces a deficit of up to $100 million for the upcoming school year, the community has a chance to provide input on the budget process. One of the district’s four remaining town hall meetings will be held Dec. 9 at Mission Bay High School. “It’s going to outline the proposed cuts coming down from Sacramento, what cuts were made in the prior year and detail the proposed cuts in 2010,” said Pat Hom, president of Friends of Pacific Beach Secondary Schools, a nonprofit organization that supports area schools. As a result of the district’s ballooning deficit since cuts were first considered in June, district spokesman Jack Brandais said everything is on the table. Money-saving ideas mentioned in June included class size increases, mandatory districtwide
BY ADRIANE TILLMAN | BEACH &BAY PRESS
Grandma’s kitchen is quintessentially cozy. She’s stained the oak table and Hoosier cabinet an ocean blue and painted dainty flowers across the drawers. Her lace curtains are pulled back to let the sunshine in, and the thick yellow stripes on the walls are cheery. The wooden floor has been brushed clean and the cat is curled in a corner napping. On the cabinet, a thick chocolate cake is cooling. The only caveat is that the room is not large enough for a person to enter. In fact, the whole room is the size of a shoebox comprising intricately hand-carved furniture that is only inches long and perfectly proportionate to create a tangible reality on a very small scale. Grandma’s kitchen is one of the many miniature scenes at Ms. Peggie’s Place at 5063 Cass St., a small store that sells dollhouses, shadow boxes and vignettes, as well as a wide variety of hand-carved miniatures, from a jar of canned apricots to an old-fashioned soldier’s truck opened to reveal a folded flag, uniform, love letters home and yellowed newspaper clippings. The handcarved trunk is a collector’s item at $145 but the store also sells more child-friendly pieces. “The field has come a long way from the clunky houses where the dolls were too big for the furniture,” said store owner Michael-Sue Nanos. “Now artists pay much more attention to the proportions and it’s become more and more precise.” Collectors take hours to browse the shop to discover its tiny marvels like the dainty spinet piano fit for a 16th century palace, or the miniscule toasting goblets. Browsers can
School budget deficit looms
SEE SCHOOLS, Page 3
Photos by Paul Hansen
Holiday tree lighting scheduled for Dec. 13
also find themed designs for a special occasion, like the bridal shower shadow boxes wherein the wedding cake and colors replicate the real bridal shower – or a historical piece that tracks clothes washing through the ages from the washboard to the Maytag electric. “When I take a picture and it looks real, I know I’ve done a good job,” Nanos said. “When working with miniatures you can almost lose your sense of perception, it looks so real.” Collector Elissa Gillespie called the
Pacific Beach will officially welcome the holiday season with a community tree and pier lighting event at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 13. Christmas at Crystal Pier, sponsored by the Crystal Pier Hotel and area merchants, will feature Santa’s arrival by fire truck at 2 p.m., musical caroling by school groups and a variety of seasonal refreshments provided by local Pacific Beach businesses. “The holidays are a special time in PB and Santa will visit Crystal we’re excited to launch Pier at 2 p.m. Dec. 13. FILE PHOTO the season in such a festive way,” said Andy Hanshaw, executive director of Discover Pacific Beach. “Community groups and merchants have really rallied behind
SEE MINIATURES, Page 4
SEE LIGHTING, Page 6
Michael-Sue Nanos, owner of Ms. Peggie’s Place, revels in making highlydetailed miniatures like the dollhouse above. A wizard (right) stands ready to use his magic in a whimsical vignette on display at Ms. Peggie’s Place.
Christmas at Crystal Pier Tree Lighting Bring Your Friends and Family and Join us Sunday, December 13th, 2:00 to 5:30 pm