About to Pop and Professional Wrestling on Grant Avenue
You might remember the post where I wrote how I knew I should ALWAYS carry my camera with me. ALWAYS
Friday night Steve asked if I wanted to grab a bite to eat. It was a long day at school. Sure.
We drove down to Park Brugges and the line was out the door. Plan B. We drove to BRGR and at least a 1/2 hour wait. Spoon, no reservation? A table might open up at nine. Okay.
Plan C. Let’s drive to Millvale and eat at Grant Avenue Bar.
We got to the front of the place and it was Millvale Days! Who knew? There was a wrestling ring and ropes and a referee and oh my goodness a Ferris Wheel and games and booths and bands and people. People all over the place. Snack stands and cotton candy trailers and NO camera. Well the phone.
We walked around and of course, I’d left my camera in my school bag. At home. Oh no.
These were shot with an iPhone with about 13% battery left.
Shammy and Sean at the Corn Festival
Last Saturday I went to the Carrick Corn Festival at Phillips Park, across the street from the high school where I’d just started my new position (digital photography teacher) the day before. Our principal had invited us to attend and get to know the community plus it was a chance to see the Marching Band perform and shoot some photos of the event. There were Irish Step Dancers and Bhutanese Dancers and I’ve quite a few views of the corn being shucked and boiled, dripping in butter but this is the photo of the day.
At one of the booths, this man was writing people’s names and telling their meaning. I asked if I could photograph his dog (Shammy) who was by his side with a bowl of water on the grass. Sean told me that I should have seen her at the St. Patrick’s Day parade and he shared some snaps of her in her outfit. Here he’s picked her up for another pose. Even though I was short on cash, this generous gentleman wrote the meaning of my name Ruth (a friend to all) on the back of a prayer card, using a calligraphy pen in neat writing.
Not just any prayer card but the patron saint of photographers.
He’d asked me if I knew who the patron saint of photographers was and I ‘d no idea.
He told me the story of St. Veronica and her capturing the image of Jesus’ face in the cloth she offered to him.
Receiving this unexpected gift felt like a special blessing at the start of of the new school year. Thank you Sean.
Classic Cars – Grand Parade- Kick Off St. Raphael’s Bazaar
A police car. The Bomb Squad. A trolley. About 8 classic cars. Catch some candy and Mardi Gras beads. The Boy Scouts marched, then a Bagpipe and Drum group, the Morningside Cheerleaders.We had a lot of fun watching the parade in the Morningside neighborhood, not too far from home.
We went to the festival and the man in the information booth was a colleague from the first school I taught in the city -1989. Small world. We had a lot of fun and the grandkids loved the spin art and crafts in the Kid Zone. They loved jumping the bouncy house.
On the way home we drove to Giant Eagle and got ice cream and cones to eat at home. Fresh berries. Summer!
Scroll down for the slideshow.
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
Big Dog Coffee Shop Reflected in Their Nuova Simonelli Machine
It is a stunning and shining beauty of an Espresso machine, the Nuova Simonelli. And as I stood waiting for my coffee, I noticed the reflection of the chairs and wall. I read that they are getting ready to put up some new art so I caught it on a plain green wall day.
I love that Big Dog Coffee Shop opens at 6 AM. They make authentic conversation with you and never seemed annoyed or put out like a coffee shop I used to go to every morning(and the other place doesn’t open ’til 7AM) . I feel welcomed, appreciated. It’s friendly but not fake. And their coffee is delicious, too. They are on the flats of the South Side and I teach on the slopes. Just right.
Once our book club met in the back room. It’s a welcoming space. Pretty soon they will start using the fireplace, too. I like the oatmeal bar for a splurge some days. Big Dog Coffee is more than just the jolt of morning caffeine. It is a joyful start to the day!
Steam Cleaning 100 Years of Soot and Grime
I drive by this structure most days, the corner of Stanton and Negley. It was in bad repair for a long time. Then it started to be cared for and fixed up. Attended some poetry readings here a couple of years ago. The accumulation of soot speaks of another time in Pittsburgh’s history, when the mills ran around the clock,spewing “carbon, sulfur dioxides and gypsum” (residue listed when they cleaned the Cathedral of Learning) . The buildings with the evidence of another time are dwindling. Tomorrow I will get the name of the company who is doing the cleaning and add it to this post.
The Union Project homepage states “Union Project’s purpose is to create connections and opportunities for learning through the arts and through community-based programming intended to serve the needs of the surrounding neighborhoods.” (click here for entire mission statement and more info on space rental and programs, stained glass classes and ceramics)
The right side is already cleaned, and the tower is being worked on now. I was at a red light and got the one man cleaning the tower but turned the corner and pulled over and rolled down the window to catch the other two workers and the contrast of the clean and the remaining visibile sign of the mills.
Beautifying and serving the community.
Diana Nelson Jones wrote an article 12/11/10 in the Post-Gazette about the restoration of all the stained glass windows.
This cannot be easy work!
Recent Comments