E.T. Phone Home
I just got off the phone with my sister in NYC. Good thing she has a landline. And not one that sits in an electric powered charger cradle. Just a plain old phone. She is still without power. We were talking about phones. The cancelled Halloween Parade in NYC. Our Pittsburgh Halloween postponed until Saturday due to the weather, residual hurricane effects.
I started thinking about the ET costume I made for Mark years ago. (There is a McCall’s pattern 8311 on Ebay for 29.99, I just checked) Here he is in Germany(1983) with Matthew as Robin Hood. Yes, I made that too. Mark wore that when he was four in Clarion, PA Thinking about Halloweens past.
And then years later Laura wore the ET Costume. It had a Day-Glo finger that matched the heart appliqué on the chest. The date on this photo says 1996.
And here is the costume head in the dining room tonight. I painted the eyes. The head is lined with a piece of blanket. It looks like it did when I made it! When I put on the mask this past weekend, Penny the Goldendoodle (Laura and James’ dog) growled and turned and left the room. My daughter-in-law made the ceramic jack-o-lantern in grade school and I saved it from the trash when she pitched it.
All the leaves are down and the sky is gray
I heard a loud machine sound out my bedroom window this morning. No school today. I shot this right through the screen and glass and need to pull the storm windows down. It was a vehicle with a strong leaf blower. Hmmmm. The tree muncher arrived later to chew up a few branches that fell on the park across the street.
Pignolis- An Heirloom Recipe from a Friend’s Mother
The one thing I can tell you is, don’t mess around with the confectioner’s sugar amount as it is needed to make the cookie take shape!
Parchment paper is key, too.
You can see I should have put this recipe in a plastic sleeve. It is well used and always appreciated. People devour them.
Thinking of how wonderful it is that Esther was so generous to share her hand written recipe at least twenty years ago. Her daughter, Diana, will take her iPad to show her this post on Tuesday as we have no school due to the storm winds and rain predictions. I called and asked if it would be okay to post and Diana said, “Yes” so thank you Diana and her mother, Esther.
I baked these for Laura’s wedding last year and made them for the House Concert for my gluten-free friend.
(Smidge, this recipe is for you, too!)
At the Grocery Store in the Meat Department. You Tell Me…..
The grocery store was packed and sales brisk, everyone stocking up on water, milk,bread. Batteries. Toilet paper.
Lots of shoppers dressed up from church and all the store workers sporting black and gold for the Steelers game that was about to start. Carts filled with chips and dip for the football game today, in addition to preparation for the impending storm. The high winds are to start tomorrow.
The power not affected yet.
Later at the gas station I saw a man at the next pump filling huge gas cans for his generator.
BUT as I walked through the meat department looking for the rest of my family, this is what I saw on the floor.
There was no one to ask what this was or why.
A display gone wrong? Deflated? Someone practicing balloon art on break? You tell me.
Music Makes the House Come Alive
Saturday night, Christopher Mark Jones accompanied by David Hart on Mandolin.Expert musicians played two sets to an appreciative audience. Their music made the house come alive.
Laura and James came in from Columbus to help host. I couldn’t have done it without them. We made a Gourd Tree on the cupcake stand my friend Joanne sent last birthday. I baked a New York Cheesecake, the kind with no crust where you start at 500 degrees then turn it down to 225 and let it bake undisturbed into the night after you turn the oven off.
L said it was the best house concert she had ever attended! Everyone seemed to be in agreement that it was a wonderful concert and lively evening. Friends and neighbors joined in singing a few choruses with the sing along portion and the house lent itself with a warm, welcoming spirit and ambience.
They left their umbrellas at the door. The threat of five days of rain with Sandy coming up the East Coast didn’t prevent anyone from coming.
It was a lovely, musical event. Thanks to Christopher and David! The candles provided a warm glow.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Foreign
The Weekly Photo Challenge: Foreign was enough to make me scramble- find Croatian photos from my trip visiting Matthew about 4 years ago.
Not a Postcard- South Side Curb Scene
What I saw as I went to get into my car after mailing items at the post office on Carson Street- South Side
(Is that more like it, Rufus?)
Autumn Postcard from Guernsey County Seat – Cambridge Ohio
I’ve been told some of my photographs look like postcards. I don’t think that is a good thing when they tell me but I don’t mind. I like postcards.
Another view from the National Road- along Route 40. Have you ever seen a Cambridge Glass Turkey?
Cambridge is best known for Cambridge Glass
and the museum The National Museum of Cambridge Glass is located on 9th Street in Cambridge, Ohio.
Open April thru December
Wednesday – Saturday 9:00am – 4:00pm
Sunday: Noon – 4:00 pm
Closed Easter & July 4th
Additional appointments or tour groups by appointment.
Fall Colors Along the National Road- Route 40
When I was a kid we piled in the car in NJ and drove to Illinois every summer. This is the route we took.
I drove it home to Pittsburgh a couple of weeks ago on my way back from Columbus.
Route 40 The National Road. I pulled over to catch the autumn hues in the background hills along the way.
There were interesting and quirky scenes but this is the one that stayed with me for the time since I drove along this highway instead of the interstate.
Laura has a Mumkin on her Front Porch
When I visited last week in Columbus, Laura had a Mumkin on her front porch. (James,too)
A pumpkin decoration with the top off and filled with a chrysanthemum plant. Do they have mumkins where you live? It was new to me. I guess you could turn it around after Halloween for Thanksgiving time so the Jack-o-Lantern face is in the back. I thought it was cheerful.
When I googled the word Mumkin, I came up with a totally different definition from the Urban Dictionary.
Anyway it was cute and the mums were all still buds. Maybe it has since bloomed. I will have to ask. What will they think of next?
Piano Recital Played from an iPad
Shot with my iPhone after the piano recital, no camera with me tonight-
The music filled the beautiful church, St. Andrew’s in Highland Park. Pianist Linda Morgan-Ellison played Haydyn, Liszt, Schubert and Debussy Saturday evening. I can’t imagine the number of hours and weeks she had to practice the complicated pieces. She played expertly.
The concert was dedicated to the memory of her friend, Bernadette G. Callery who passed away a few months ago.
At the reception in the Parish Hall was a photo of her friend, propped up under a gorgeous bouquet of dark red roses. I was told the name of the color of roses was Black Magic. Lots of candles flickered in the window sills as some form of bubbly spirits was poured into stem glasses. There was cake, cheese and fruit to share after the recital.
We were talking afterwards and my friend V recognized the first musical piece by Haydyn as the opening and closing credits for the 6 Part BBC Mini-Series Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth.
After the concert, several members of the audience gathered around the piano to try to figure out how she was playing from the iPad.
Ahhh, there was a foot pedal to scroll to the next page of score. Her husband told me it was an app you could buy for $4.99, called forScore app. Amazing!
We met another pianist, Henry Spinelli, who will play a recital at St. Andrews on March 16th at 3 PM.
Friends of Music and the Arts at St. Andrews sponsors many free musical events throughout the year.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Silhouette
The wordpress weekly photo challenge is Silhouette. When I hear that word I think of the little black paper cut- outs of children’s profiles mounted in a black oval frame. They used to be popular and hanging in homes. But yesterday I was photographing this display of bras created for October- Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
The wind was brisk and it started to rain. The bras hung on a metal tree sculpture at American Eagle campus on the South Side, Pittsburgh, were blowing like flags. This photo is unretouched and is in color but looks black and white without any adjustments.
Last year there were thousands of bras strung across the adjacent Hot Metal Bridge which I posted.
A reminder to schedule a an overdue mammogram.
A time to think of all of those who battle this disease, family and friends we know and love.
And a snippet of video to show the wind and rain effect on the scene…
Bras in the Wind
Francine’s High School For Sale
Schenley High School
It’s been closed a few years now.
Well, the yellow sign says RELOCATED but that was temporary.
It’s gone now.
When I drive by this building it feels sad. When I drove by today it was raining and I saw the For Sale sign out front. If you want to see a magnificent aerial view of the building and where to send your bid to buy it, click here
I went to high school in Morristown, NJ so it isn’t my Alma Mater, but the empty building evokes a sense of loss.
There’s whole list of notable alumni but here’s a link to a photo of Andy Warhol’s homeroom class 1944-1945
Camera Flash Must Have Awakened This Doll
Last week when I was in Columbus visiting the family, I noticed my youngest granddaughter Maura’s baby dolls all lined up on the ottoman in the family room.
There wasn’t much available light and the auto flash went off on the iPhone as I shot the picture.
It wasn’t until I looked on the screen, that I noticed the middle doll’s expression on her face! I ‘d just been trying to capture the tidy line-up of little doll bodies. 
Sculptor Paul Roger-Bloche Mother and Child Statue
On the way back from getting coffee with a colleague last Thursday, before the evening session of Open House, S. showed me this statue. Today I returned to photograph it in the sinking October sunlight.
As I drove home, I was thinking about a mother’s love for her child after spending a little time photographing the sculpture.
One block from school - Paul Roger-Bloche bronze sculpture,
L’Enfant,
created 1899.
Overbrook Boulevard and Ravilla Street intersection.
Here’s a link to the story about how Boy Scout Troop 224 rediscovered this statue beneath vegetation, when just the head was showing through. 
Stink Bug at the Gas Station Trying to Hitch a Ride
I was filling up the tank and a stink bug started crawling up the car window. Caught his climb with the iPhone and the reflection of the parked car and building make for an interesting perspective. At least to me. He is definitely a bit soft on the focus but I still liked the composition. Plus he looks about the size of the other car! BIG!
10th Euro Car Oktoberfest Held at Volkswagen of America Westmoreland Site
It was a gorgeous October day. On the warm side. Guys in T shirts and shorts. Saw a few VW tattoos. I took the scenic route from Columbus as I made my way back home to Pittsburgh.
I drove to VW Westmoreland (which used to assemble VW Rabbits but closed in 1988) to a Euro Car show sponsored by Sendell Motors and organized by Jason Santo Columbo and Josh Volk. (if you click their names it will send you to the events FB page)
It was George with the 1973 VW Thing from the Garfield Art Car Show last week who told me about the Oktoberfest today. Parked next to George was Lenny’s 1964 356 Outlaw Porsche. Lenny told me he spent 13 years restoring it. I should write out THIRTEEN so it sinks in. A labor of love. He’s a certified race flag waver who works at the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix, keeping the drivers safe by signaling with a flag, letting them know what is going on. Lenny has an article in the ARPCA (Allegheny Region Porsche Club of America) but I couldn’t find the specific link to it, sorry.
Some of you may remember the post of Volkswagen Family photograph shot in North Carolina.
Thanks for the tip on the show today, George! So, what do you think, Uncle Frank?
Reverse Root Beer Float at Jeni’s
Columbus Ohio
We got ice cream cones after supper at Jeni’s. Their salty caramel flavor is really good. There was a sign for a reverse root beer float.
Of course, I had to ask…. Cream soda and root beer ice cream. I had a scoop of root beer ice cream along with the salty caramel. Next time I will try the float!
Jeni’s is delicious
Weekly Photo Challenge: Big
Weekly Photo Challenge: Big and the photo example was a ten foot long cheese.
A guest blogger today- my son Mark took this photo of Murphy by using forced perspective, making him appear BIG. Mark had been reading about forced perspective in Imagineering Disney brochures describing how this is done at the Disney Theme Parks. I tried the technique today with Flat Ruthie
Duck Eggs in Iceland- Guest Post
My sister and her friends went on a trip to Iceland. Euthemia sent me this photograph yesterday in response to the farm eggs post. I emailed and got permission to post her photo today.
Here’s what she wrote-
“Thought you’d like to see these. To add to your collection of beautiful naturally colored eggs. They taste much stronger than chicken eggs. I think scrambled with herbs would be better than the hard boiled were.
Love, Euthemia”
Non-Partisan Signs
Seen(Scene) on the way home from school. Pulled into the drive and shot with my iPhone.
9 on 10-10!
Anna- artist, bicyclist, swimmer, diver, rock climber, sister, friend, star student, super hula-hooper and so much more.
I was going to make the title today- How I Became a Grandmother. You were born!
Wishing you a happy day filled with love, every day, always. Love you.
Fresh Eggs Color Study from Mar’s Neighbor’s Hens
They look as if they were dyed with food coloring for Easter.
They are not.
These eggs were a gift to Marlene from her neighbor when the family was visiting in Hardy, Virginia. The variety of colors in the shells was amazing to me. And they tasted delicious. 
Recent Comments