What’s in a Name?
We were at the neighbors’ farm in Hardy, VA this past weekend. They graciously allowed the grandchildren to pet the baby pig and the baby turkeys.
Anna asked what the pig’s name was- ”Doesn’t have one.”
The baby mini-mules and their miniature horses don’t have to worry but then again, they have NAMES!
Bob the Mule. Heart the Horse.
The egg-layers are spared.
Oh yes, they have a couple of ducks. And their names? Christmas and New Years.
The second image? Those are a couple of (seven pounds apiece) pork butts that Pap smoked for the Paleo crowd. The veg branch of the family didn’t come this past weekend. I don’t think the meat had names.
Bruno’s Gastro Truck Near Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia
We had just seen the Ice Cream Float Boat on the lake.
Food trucks are hot, hot, hot these days.
Spotted Bruno’s Gastro Truck in the parking lot as we were stopping to buy a few rolls of duct tape at Capps Home Building Center . Anna was going to make a duct tape wallet for her Dad’s birthday present.
We’d just been boating with the family with a rented pontoon boat on Smith Mountain Lake and we were headed back to Hardy, VA. Next time we’ll have to try something to eat from this shiny truck.
A Day to Remember
A neighbor’s display in his yard. Each flag has a metal marker of a different war. Too many wars.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Summer
You’ve seen Ice Cream Trucks. How about an Ice Cream Boat?
Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia. 500 miles of shoreline.
We were 35 miles from Roanoke. Celebrating Mark’s 36th birthday today.
Memorial Day Weekend with the family. Rented a pontoon boat and enjoyed a hot summery day on the lake.
Ice Cream Boat
Happy Birthday Mark
Love you, Ma
Mirror Mirror On The Wall
Convex traffic mirror. At the zoo. Not a monkey. Self- portrait.
Maybe I got the title after viewing the scary preview of the movie Snow White and the Huntsman which is coming out June first. No dwarfs to be seen. Definitely not for children.
And then I researched convex mirror and find the Pulitzer Prize winning book Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror and the lengthy title poem of the same name by John Ashberry.
Wikipedia says “Round convex mirrors called Oeil de Sorcière (French for “sorcerer’s eye”) were a popular luxury item from the 15th century onwards, shown in many depictions of interiors from that time.[1] With 15th century technology, it was easier to make a regular curved mirror (from blown glass) than a perfectly flat one.”
And of course they mention the Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck which everyone is familiar with but may not know the painting’s title. See the convex mirror in the details if you click on the Arnolfini Portrait link and scroll to the section Mirror.
Okay, just trying to make a photograph of me a bit interesting to others. Convex mirrors seem interesting to me.
Sea Lion Viewing Window at the Pittsburgh Zoo
Pittsburgh Zoo trip with K-2 grade.
The Sea Lion seemed to enjoy looking at the students!
I could have stayed there a long time to watch the sea lions swim by and blow bubbles at us.
Such Expressive (and Unexpected) Taxidermy
Beware of Fox!
It’s been up on this porch roof for at least a couple of days.
I was driving to the zoo from school on Monday.
The story I heard from the guy out in front of the house next door?
The guy who lives there does demolition and probably got it from some home he was tearing down. It is the season of demolition around the city as you know.
A photographer has no choice but to pull to the curb and shoot the scene. Remember the days of women’s stoles with fox heads dangling and tiny paws with claws? Beady eyes? Ugh. Wonder if they take him in if it rains?
The last book we read in 2nd grade Intervention Group was the Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl.
Night Game- Pirates 5 – Mets 4 – PNC Park – Pittsburgh PA
It was a beautiful night, capturing the sunlight as the sun went down. And it ended up being an exciting game with a win by the Pirates. A few fireworks. Perfect weather. They close the Roberto Clemente Bridge for pedestrians to walk across to the Park. Reggie Howze is the saxophonist standing on the bridge.
Steel Making- Braddock PA
Edgar Thomson Plant United States Steel Mon Valley Works in Braddock, PA Shot less than two weeks ago
How does color or lack of it affect a photograph? What about cropping?
The five photos below are all from one master image.
Discovered the folklore of Joe Magarac, a legendary steel worker from Croatia tried to find online if that statue of a steelworker is supposed to be legendary Joe Magarac. Check out the article Folklore or Fakelore?
And I found a cool driving tour of the mills video from 1988
or see the Steel making process in this video
Demolition in Swissvale
Driving back from Braddock, I saw people on the sidewalk with cameras in hand.
Then I saw the demolition of a house taking place.
I turned a corner and parked and got out and took a few pictures.
I thought the first one the best as it showed most of the scene. But the progressive close-ups complete the story.
My son’s in-laws grew up in this part of Pittsburgh. I heard that the house had been empty for ten years.
It was sad to see it demolished even though it must have been in bad shape. Y0u wonder who lived there.
What happened that it became abandoned. You know there is a story.
I saw a green plastic basket in the rubble
*And I looked up the CASE excavator model # and it says it is 37, 700 pounds operating weight.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands
Making hearts with hands.
We’re working on decorations for the Spring concert next week, drawing friends.
The theme is friendship. I’ll make a photo for each student in this third grade and thought that maybe notecards would be nice, too. Several were absent today so it was easier to fit everyone in.
How they helped me out this afternoon after the weekly photo challenge was posted: Hands. We had a lot of fun. I told them the problem of creating a heart with all of their hands. This is how they experimented with me.
They were very excited to help and try to accomplish the objective. Working together and all being part of something was a good exercise in friendship. The only part I was directing was reminding them to not let their heads get in the way so I could see their hands from the chair where I was standing. All students were engaged in learning.
Trying individual hearts
Note to Self: Leave Home Ten Minutes Earlier
Two school buses and a garbage truck stopped on the narrow street as I made my way to school. A standstill, brake lights on. Do you worry? No, you photograph the scene. Write a note to self.
Tie-Dye With a New Generation
Eighth graders in the art room.
Rubber bands and string. Buckets of color. Vinyl gloves.
Bought more shirts tonight to take to school to try again.
They’ve got the hang of it. The practice.
I tell them - no design turns out exactly as planned.
Friday morning in the hallway a blur of t-shirts walked by.
I felt satisfied.
Did you ever tie-dye anything in your life?
Weekly Photo Challenge: Blue
One photo, spot on, would be just right. I usually have no problem choosing one image.
Until almost midnight on Monday night. Blue.
Yes, that is a leather bodice. NYC shop window. I was focusing on the shoes but the blue dress caught my eye when I was looking for a blue photo.
Trackbacks & Pingbacks from fellow bloggers. You can check out how they responded to the challenge.
Flat Ruthie got in on it this week, too. Click here
- Remember, remember between a fog | La Mandraka
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Korean BBQ at Kim’s Restaurant in North Philly- Guest Post
You know how happy I am to hear from my grown up kids.
They’re busy with their lives (and families of their own) but when the little ding sounds on the phone, I am like Pavlov’s dog and I salivate with expectation to see what tasty morsel they have sent over the net. I love the updates, the communication, the pics.
When Mark was on business in Philadelphia last week, he met up with his high school friend, Prem, and the two of them enjoyed an authentic Korean BBQ at Kim’s. Mark said it was delicious.
Here is what he sent over the phone.
I enjoyed seeing what they are eating and I like the one he took of himself and his friend at the table.
They Sat on a Davenport
with antimacassars…….
Marian VanSickle married Roy Joseph Hendricks August 1939 in Durand, Illinois
This is not their wedding photo but they look like newlyweds to me.
And the Opening at UnSmoke Artspace
The third day. The actual opening. The third in a series of posts highlighting emerging artists and their exhibition.
It was a great night at UnSmoke Artspace, Braddock PA. Seems to make sense to show the successful and well attended exhibition after two days of hardwork and preparation.
Everyone was waiting and waiting for the plank to break as Aaron drilled and drilled for more than four and a half hours. You can see him fall in the blurry photo and applause broke out!
Congratulations to Aaron Meyers and Justin Sorensen on (Voice of rational being)
Justin Sorensen Sets Up Exhibition (Voice of rational being) at UnSmoke Artspace
After a drive from Rhode Island School of Design to Erie PA and then today to Braddock, PA, Justin Sorensen is setting up his artwork for Friday night’s opening at UnSmoke Artspace . Yesterday’s blogpost showed Aaron Meyers installing his portion of the exhibition but Justin hadn’t arrived yet.
I called Aaron and asked if I could come over and shoot Justin for the blog and he said it was fine by them.
I drove over with my neighbor who can’t make the opening so he could catch a preview of the exhibition. Justin was a good sport and we didn’t stay too long as they were really busy completing the final preparations. Twenty four hours later and Aaron was still drilling into the brick walls.
They took a break and showed us around and I was able to capture Justin and his artwork for today’s post and photos. Opening Friday night at 6 PM. Unsmoke Artspace 1137 Braddock Avenue, Braddock PA.
Justin Sorensen and Aaron Meyers at UnSmoke Artspace in Braddock PA, ready for Friday night’s opening of (Voice of rational being)
Aaron Meyers Sets Up Exhibition (Voice of rational being) at UnSmoke Artspace
After school on Wednesday, I drove to Braddock. Directly across from the Edgar Thomson USS Mill is an old Catholic school building that’s been transformed into a spacious art gallery. UnSmoke Artspace.
This Friday night (May 11th 6-9PM) is the opening of (Voice of rational being) An exhibition featuring the works of Aaron Meyers and Justin Sorensen.
I was fortunate to spend an hour or so watching Aaron set up some of his work and followed him around, shooting and talking and only once did he ask me to hold a plank while he drilled into the brick wall so I wasn’t too useful. He was gracious and explained his exploration of materials and how he had transported the art in a truck and what his performance would be during the exhibit.
One thing that struck me is how Aaron inquired about my teaching at school AND about what my blog is about. So although I was there for the purpose of photographing him and his art, he expressed interest in what I do and it was an easy exchange. Aaron has empathy and understanding for the teaching as his mom and I are colleagues. He told me how almost every school he attended in the city is now closed.
1137 Braddock Avenue, Braddock UnSmoke Artspace
Across the street
Google Pittsburgh
When we first lived in Pittsburgh and Matthew played baseball in Mellon Park across the street from Bakery Square we could smell the aroma of baking. Crackers, cookies, it was the NABISCO Factory built in 1918. Bakery Square has been “repurposed” as they say. And GOOGLED.
There’s a Coffee Tree that opens at 5:30 AM. for the early birds.
And a close-up crop of the Google flag.
Meeting of the Sock Monkey Minds /Solving WordPress Email Deluge!
Four sock monkeys I made, set up, waiting for the kids to come home and find them (from Easter visit to grandchildren)
When I looked at the photo, I thought of meetings, meetings, meetings…….table the motion and I move to adjourn-
Do I hear a second?
second part for my blogging friends who experienced a deluge of email in their box. See Chicago John’s public service announcement
or it could be a WordPress meeting!
Monkey 1″Hey, let’s flood people’s inboxes with a ton of emails, every time they write a comment or reply on a post”
Monkey 2 “Yes, let’s check the box for them without their realizing it so they get emails and more emails and more emails. Imagine if a blogger gets twenty comments. And then a commenter replies, or the blogger replies, too. YIKES
Multiply that cause each commenter will now receive an email. Wow, it is like a math problem. Can even get almost to infinity in an inbox!”
Monkey 3 ”We might get a ton a email ourselves over in support!”
Monkey 4 ” We had better fix this problem at WordPress NOW as our loyal bloggers and their readers are not happy!!” : – (
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