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Here and There…Now and Then |
Reflections
This is the back entrance to my building and the way I usually enter and exit. I like the changing reflections through the year. In the spring it’s a very green reflection. Some days blue is the predominant color. Today gray and brown were in force.
My good friend Ruth loves to draw and occasionally she’ll work from one of my photos. As you can see, she’s done a great job here with Julia.
Evening Sky
There was another beautiful sunset this evening. I saw it coming but was driving when it was at its best so couldn’t get a good picture of it. I did get the sky before it started to turn orange. Not as pretty, I suppose but there you are. I do like it when airplane contrails cast shadows on lower clouds.
Let It Snow Disco
I think the title says it all.
Evening Sky
The clouds were nice all day but as the sun headed westward, they were dramatically lit and quite beautiful. This is the view from my office window shortly before leaving for the day.
Traffic Lights
Traffic was a bit heavy coming home today and I took this picture in my rain spattered rear view mirror.
Wacky-Tacky Day
It is spirit week at school and today was Wacky-Tacky day. So, here’s the girl’s get-up.
We each had a set of “Buckyballs” in our stocking this past Christmas and we’ve really enjoyed playing with them. One set was plain steel, another was darker (listed as black but as you can see, they aren’t, really), and the third was multicolored. Dorothy managed to get her colored set back into its cube configuration, which is how it came. Mostly we make a tube or sheet with them, though.
Skeletons
For Christmas I got a book of essays by G. K. Chesterton. I’ve only read a few of them, because I have a long shelf of books I’m trying to get through and I add to it faster than I can read them. I think this one is next on my list, though. The second essay in the book, and one which I have read (I sneak one now and then), is called A Defence of Skeletons, written in 1901. In it, he talks about the skeletons of trees, as well as our own skeletons. You can read the whole thing here. Anyway, I was thinking about that as I looked out the window of my office at the skeletons of trees outside. I think they are quite beautiful.
Cathy and Megan
We picked up Dorothy this evening after her retreat with “that other church” and were excited to run into Megan. It’s nice to see friends. Note: Cathy’s telling a story, she isn’t just waving.
Piano and Hands
I’m working with a friend on the front and back cover for his upcoming CD. It’s piano music and we decided to go with the obvious “hands at the piano keys” for the back cover. This is the image we picked, with lots of room for white text.
These are just photos of four random items at Cathy’s mom’s. The two wood blocks were used to print their curtains, which I think is pretty cool.
Map Mosaic
I printed this map for a co-worker last week. In all there were 150 pages, although the pages that were only ocean were left off. She spent considerable time putting them together and even more time going over each marked location, categorizing them, grouping them, and figuring out what she needed to figure out.
Wallpaper
We started scraping wallpaper in Dorothy’s room last weekend. Actually, we started a long time ago but then didn’t work on it forever and we started again last weekend. We’re making good progress, as evidenced by the wallpaper that needs to be cleaned up.
No. 1, The Larch
Let’s face it, you’re either going to get this or you aren’t. If you do, you may find it hilarious. If not, well, then you almost certainly will not. This is an original drawing by Kendra on the white board in our kitchen. Spoiler alert! No. 3 is the Horse Chestnut.
Lowering Sky
Actually, I’m not sure if this really qualifies as a lowering sky. It was actually the sun shining through, which is a much more cheery. Still, it looked dark and threatening. It was actually a nice afternoon. Not too cold and a nice day for a walk.
Have you ever looked up at planes overhead and wondered, as have I, where they are going? Do you think about all the people, somewhat uncomfortably crammed into their cattle-class seats, wondering, are we almost there? Does it make you think of far away places, exotic smells, wonderful food, or the sounds of a foreign tongue? Or do you ever wonder whether “blue” or “yonder” is the noun in that phrase? Perhaps not.
Dem Dry Bones
Of course, dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones really refers to human bones and these are from a deer, but you get the idea.
Major Simone Chhutney
Many of us are familiar with Major Grey Mango Chutney. Well, who knew they made this? Major Simone Chhutney!
Ice
It’s gotten cold again and was a beautiful winter day today. Cathy and I went for a walk in the neighborhood this afternoon. We talked mostly about the things that are bugging us at work, but you certainly don’t want to hear about that. I stopped a few times to take pictures of ice.
Urban BBQ
We stopped at Urban BBQ for carry-out this evening. It was hopping. This picture has Kendra and Cathy looking at the menu. Dorothy sat down as I took the picture, so that’s her knee. This is the Urban BBQ that used to be Urban Burger.
Contemplating A Navel
I had to run a few errands at lunchtime today and when I went out to my car, there was this orange in the parking lot, just sitting there. Contemplating its navel, I assume.
I took Dorothy to her art class today. I enjoyed a little time at nearby Montpelier Mansion. I haven’t actually been inside but I’ve walked around the grounds a few times. Here is a sampling of the pictures I took.
Late Christmas Lights
Most of the Christmas lights in our neighborhood are down. There are still some white lights out but all the elaborate decorations have come down, with the exception of one house that still has them all up. I don’t mind, actually. Lights don’t really convey Christmas to me as much as winter, anyway, so what’s the big deal. This yard has lots of color and they are pretty intense, bright colors, too.
Rainy Night
Cold and snowy on Monday, a pretty beautiful day on Tuesday, then rainy and gray on Wednesday. Typical winter weather, actually. The rain was light most of the day but it started raining pretty hard in the evening.
Stop
I didn’t have a chance to get out and take any pictures today so when Dorothy went out to run an errand this evening I brought my camera along. We stopped on the way home to take a few photos and this is our favorite.
Snow
We had our first real snowfall of 2012 today. It snowed quite hard back on the third but none of that really stuck on the ground. This evening the snow covered grassy areas and certainly made the rush hour traffic a little crazier, as the slightest suggestion of snow tends to do here. We thought about going to the grocery store to buy enough food for a week. Then we decided we would try to survive until tomorrow on what we already have. Tomorrow it’s forecast to be in the fifties, so our mini-winter is destined to be short-lived.
Nagoya Guitar
This is my old Nagoya guitar. I don’t play it much any more but it gets use when some of Dorothy’s friends pick it up.
Henna
Last night Cathy and I went to the wedding of a friend, the youngest son of good friends of Cathy’s parents, folks they’ve known since forever, more or less. The bride is of Indian extraction and was dressed traditionally. I knew that Dorothy would want to see her hands so I asked if I could take a picture of them. She had roses in henna (as well as her bouquet) in memory of her late father and the rose bushes he planted in their first home. She also had her late grandmother’s initials in henna but they don’t show here. Anyway, I was right, Dorothy was really excited to see this picture.
We had a great time and are thankful to N and Z for inviting us. May they have many years of joy together.
