Hail Storm in Zagreb Croatia- Guest Post
In my email this morning-
Dear Mom,
A hail storm broke out in Zagreb today and my friend Maja captured it with her iPhone from her 9th floor office. She was a little bit reluctant to be blogged, but she had this to say about the picture : “It looked so great and it made me so happy that I wanted to share it.”
And it reminded me of the sentence from the film “American Beauty” – “Sometimes there’s so much beauty in the world, I feel like I can’t take it, and my heart is just going to cave in.”
I think that quote is a great motto for us to live by. You and your blog do a great job reminding us all of the beauty that surrounds us every moment of every day, so I knew what to do with Maja’s picture right away!
Love you,
Matty
Thank you Maja for sharing your beautiful photograph of the hailstorm from the ninth floor window and thanks Matty, too.
Adjectives Illustrated- But Which Ones?
Today I read an ________________________(noun) about creating a self-assignment for your photography.
It made me _________________________(verb) about what I might like to try to photograph.
Then I ____________________________(verb) at what I’d already photographed.
(Chose a word – like Mad Libs ™ (Did you know Mad Libs™ was created in 1958?)
I was looking for images to go with the ____________ (adj) Strawberry I photographed on the _____________(adj. )porch this afternoon- it seemed to have a __________________(adj. )mouth.
I added the ________________________ (adj.) eyes and ears.
Adjective defined by Merriam-Webster : a word belonging to one of the major form classes in any of numerous languages and typically serving as a modifier of a noun to denote a quality of the thing named, to indicate its quantity or extent, or to specify a thing as distinct from something else
and the Writing Centre University of Ottawa has an accessible definition and examples (not that you need them but I was refreshing my grammar knowledge)
An adjective modifies a noun or a pronoun by describing, identifying, or quantifying words. An adjective usually precedes the noun or the pronoun which it modifies.
In the following examples, the highlighted words are adjectives:
- The truck-shaped balloon floated over the treetops.
- Mrs. Morrison papered her kitchen walls with hideous wall paper.
- The small boat foundered on the wine dark sea.
- The coal mines are dark and dank.
- Many stores have already begun to play irritating Christmasmusic.
- A battered music box sat on the mahogany sideboard.
- The back room was filled with large, yellow rain boots.
____________________________________________________(adjective) Strawberry face
____________________________________________________(adjective) Stanchions in the elevator when we took down the student art show
____________________________________________________(adjective) Origami on the school steps
______________________________________________________(adj.) sign in Millvale
_____________________________________(adjective) masking tape dispenser in an art room
_____________________________________(adjective) sign
_______________________________________________________________(adj) night light from Divertido
_______________________________________________(adj) iPad fireplace
Sock Monkey in camo sleeping bag _____________________________________(adjective)
A garden gnome for my Daughter-in-law’s garden (just kidding, Erika!) ____________________________________________(adj.)
There might be descriptors for several that are interchangeable. I am restraining myself from writing a list of adjectives to choose from.
Thanks for playing MadLibs™. Hope you will write an adjective for any image(s) you wish.
The Wilds, Cumberland Ohio
Mark and Erika called Saturday night and suggested we meet up at The Wilds. Cumberland Ohio. I took the New Concord Exit on I-70.
I said, sure I’ll meet you there! I was excited cause it was unexpected. And who knew this place was so interesting?
It was about 130 miles for me to drive there and they drove about 90. We took a 2 1/2 hour bus ride tour throughout the 10,000 acres and saw lots of wonderful animals. Most are endangered in the wild and this conservation facility(non-profit) gives them the protected place to reproduce. It was a beautiful day.
Bactrian Camels- Mother and Child (Yes, this was photographed in Ohio)
Przewalksi Wild Horse- a female
Sichuan Takin
Zebras- Buck and bray a bit while the one looks on
Bison running away from our bus
25 cents in a machine and you can get food for the catfish. They act like they have never eaten before or will they ever eat again. I know these were Jack’s favorite.
The catfish are not particularly attractive to me.
Rhinoceros family time. Our guide says there skin is really soft. A group of rhino is called a CRASH.
All photos taken with a Canon 70-200 mm L series lens on a Canon 5D
Our knowledgeable guide Rob.
And an ordinary rabbit. Not endangered.
And if you want to travel with us on the bus, Anna captured a two minute segment of the tour! Thanks Anna for the videoing,
Weekly Photo Challenge: Pattern
Pattern. This week I actually took a few photos to respond to the weekly challenge instead of sifting through the archives.
It was a wonderful Mother’s Day with an unexpected trip to meet the family at The Wilds in Cumberland OH but stay tuned for that post. No time for uploading tonight. Using the iPhone camera tonight, looking around the kitchen for patterns. Came upstairs and saw the afghan on the bed. Impromptu pattern photos.
Traffic pattern- coming back from The Wilds we were totally stopped on Interstate 70 around Zanesville.
China pattern. I used to like the idea of mismatched china. Service for 12 in twelve different patterns. It was an idea.
Silver Pattern. My grandmother’s Moonglow and some random pattern in my drawer. Used to be you would select a silver pattern when you were getting married. Lots of couples choose stainless these days.
Knitting, Sewing and Smocking Patterns from yesteryear- another life. I used to do all these things when the kids were small. I still knit.
Knitting Smocking and Sewing Patterns
Pattern in Nature
A Chevron pattern- the crocheted afghan that a coworker’s mother made for my mother. I call it the Good and Plenty afghan.
Pattern in the lid of the jam, sitting on the kitchen table
You can see some wonderful pattern in fellow blogger’s posts for the challenge this week
Light through Glass Block Windows
Carpets Architecture Leaves and Details
and see Rockaway Six Months After Sandy at Nylondaze
Bob Rumba- Ventriloquist, Comedian, Balloon Artist and All Around Funny Guy
His card states COMIC GENIUS*
and the asterisk below statement says *Genius Available by Appointment Only.
When Steve and I were downtown at the Gallery Crawl a couple of weeks ago, we were walking in front of the new Arcade Comedy Theater. Kristy was out front distributing info and invited us in. I told her my daughter Laura was taking an improv class in Columbus.
Free beer! Hmmm. Steve thought that sounded good. There was improv going on in the theatre. Lots of good energy in the place.
We promised to return another time when we didn’t have to be somewhere.
We were on our way home but with the free beer and the man in the window motioning for us to come in, too, what else could we do?Just a few minutes.
Turns out it was Bob Rumba, All Around Funny Guy.
Women outside the Arcade Comedy Theater
Cars Driving Uphill Have the Right of Way
….and so when I leave school and I’m driving down Parkfield Street (AKA the Cow Trail) and someone’s driving uphill, the road’s so narrow you have to pull over to the curb and allow the uphill car passage. Even pulled over it can be a tight squeeze.
Wouldn’t you know it, I got lucky on Monday afternoon and as I’m at the curb I look out the passenger window and see the neighborhood of Carrick and St. Basil’s Church up at the top of another hill. One shot with the window down and then I put the camera back in my school bag and take my foot of the brake and head down the hill as the uphill driver gives a wave of thanks.
Looked up St. Basil‘s story, too.
This shot shows Pittsburgh topography. Hills and more hills.
The trees are full of leaves now. Shot with the Canon 70-200mm lens as I was headed to the Girl’s Softball game.
Not Quite Gilligan’s Island and The Ruins of Something Along Route 28
It was late when I left for home cause I went to photograph the girl’s softball game and
because the Bigelow Blvd. ramp was closed, I had to follow a lengthy detour.
I found myself in bumper to bumper traffic at a standstill on one of the most awful roads- Route 28. It is ALWAYS under construction.
And there I saw this abandoned boat along the busy highway.
It took my mind of my impatience at not being home yet, having to wait.
I wondered how it got there. To whom did it belong?
It’s like being in a coffee shop and suddenly understanding why someone writing a screenplay is sitting there, working. A snippet of conversation overheard. You write a script. You get ideas.
I heard the guy say to the woman at the next table, “You have a certain lyrical unexpectedness.” (inaudible response from her) Him again, ” I played in a bar last night.”
So what’s the story of the boat? And the next scene just a few feet later, a few more car lengths down?
or the next scene when the traffic stopped again. These scenes just make you wonder.
Or if I hadn’t been stopped, would I have seen them?
Pittsburgh Marathon Photos – Almost Mile Twenty
I got down early to catch the first marathoners in the wheelchair division. It was a perfect day for a marathon.
There was a street sweeper operating at the intersection of Highland and Bryant when I got down. I knew the wheelchair participants started about 6:45 AM and I calculated when they’d arrive at almost mile twenty down the bottom of our hill. I didn’t have too long to wait.
When I witness their effort, a catch forms in my throat. It’s inspiring. Accompanied by a bicycle escort, they “run” the course with determination and hard work.
I am dividing the post into galleries. The first shots I stood across the street from the local coffee shop – Tazza D’Oro.
DICK’S Sporting Goods flew about 3 dozen marathoners to Pittsburgh from Boston so they could run the marathon. These runners were ones who were unable to complete the marathon due to the attacks.
There were thousands of runners today for the Pittsburgh Marathon so this is just a small sampling of the day. Perfect weather!
Here’ s the first gallery-
The Wheelchair Participants
The lead runners just flew by, almost effortlessly (well, it seemed easy watching them) Soooo fast. So smooth.
There were lots of dogs in attendance today.
And then there were the fun runners, the monkey, the man with the trumpet.bugle?, the guy in a kilt and sandals, women wearing tutus who were texting, and some wild hair and outfits. Many patriotic displays and one guy running backwards. A man wore a Chicago Runs for Boston shirt.
One man ran the whole marathon blindfolded, tethered to a co-runner. He did this to raise awareness and to experience what his 7 year old daughter must experience in life- she’s legally blind. To read about his efforts click here and another article about this father’s running the entire marathon blindfolded- here
A few more runners
And all the volunteers and the workers who made it all possible
The street sweepers, the garbage collectors, the police, the paramedics, the course marshals, the volunteers who passed out water and picked up the cups from the course. The bus who came to sweep up the runners who needed to ride for the remainder of the course. All photos shot with a 70-200mm Canon L series lens on Canon 5D SLR camera
And the partiers, the cheering section, and as neighbor Mike coined the term the CHAIR-ATHONERS. for further coverage you can go to the Post-Gazette
This Little Piggy- Wait, It’s THIRTEEN Piggies- Guest Blog by Marlene and Donald
Down on the farm in Virginia. Mar said it was dark in the barn. Thanks for a fun guest blog. We don’t see this in the city!
Lots of new life appearing at your neighbor’s farm.
Springtime action in corrals and pens and barn.
See proud future Dad. His “wife” is sitting on 17 eggs. (Not sure if Turkeys mate for life like other species you hear about. hmmmm)
Future Thanksgiving Dinner?
Future Dad Turkey
Future Mom sitting on 17 eggs!
Waiting for baby horses- another blog, another day
Click on Video below -A little dark in the barn. That is if you want to see 13 new piglets scramble at feeding time.
Weekly Photo Challenge: From Above
There’ve been a lot of directions in the challenges.
Up, down. Round. Forward. No inside out. Yet
this week it’s FROM ABOVE.
I stand over garbage, see a lone glove on the road-
take a shot. A single baby shoe in the gutter.
Weddings from a church balcony, the mezzanine.
Not often, though. Directly above is rare, more likely above from an angled side.
Have they done sideways? I like that movie.
Here’s my From Above Gallery, though not celestial.
Laura and James at Marjorie and Dan’s Wedding Reception. Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland.
Seventh (Andy Warhol) and Ninth Street Bridges taken from the Renaissance Hotel.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Shadows at the entrance of school
John and Angie’s Wedding
Franklin Park Conservatory Columbus OH
Anna, Baby Jack and Michael March 2007
Roberto Clemente Bridge and PNC Park from the Renaissance Hotel
Last Year’s Rose
French Fries on Carson Street
Porsche Engine
Batteries from a week in digital photo class.
Dunkin Donut apron in the school parking lot.
Pizza Chef Again in E.Rossi & Co. Windows- Grand and Mulberry Streets
Taken the week before Easter, on Spring Break vacation in New York City. Found the second window picture with the nativity scenes tonight and the pizza man reappearing which I’d missed the first time.
The little girls’ mom is pointing out the Mary riding on the donkey with a hand on her expectant figure. 
Pyramid of LED Lights on the Gulf Tower, Change with the Weather
Dear Blog Readers,
Thank you for the thoughtful expressions of sympathy, your comments and emails yesterday, on the passing of Murphy the Airedale.
It means a lot to the whole family to read such an outpouring of love, care and concern. Your words offer comfort and understanding. xxoo Ruth
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For years the Gulf Tower Building ( built in 1930) had a beacon that displayed the weather- red lights for fair or blue lights for precipitation
Now The Gulf Tower has a fancy installation of programmed LED lights that change with the holidays, sporting events and special occasions but still tell the weather at five minutes before the hour. The combination of lights can produce any color.
Designed by Cindy Limauro, professor of lighting design at Carnegie Mellon University and husband, Christopher Popowich, partners in C&C Lighting LLC.
Read more: at the Post Gazette article with a chart telling how to”read” the lights.
This photo was taken from my car window while waiting or my sister to buy her train ticket back to NYC at the AMTRAK station downtown.
Murphy the Airedale- A Family’s Best Friend
Murphy Joseph McGrath. Murphy passed today. He just turned 11. He was patient, loving, loyal, humorous and adored by everyone. What a personality!
It is a very sad day for the family.
If you’ve been following the blog you’ve seen his photograph many times. I swear he smiled for the camera.
He was one of the first posts on the blog, Murphy Waits for Michael.
So many of you expressed sympathy recently on the passing of Erika’s parents Italian Greyhound, Cleo. It’s been a hard month.
Today’s tribute is for Mark and Erika’s, Anna, Michael, Jack and Maura’s dear sweet boy- Murphy!
When Mark and Erika brought each of the babies home from the hospital, Murphy was there to welcome them into the family. Murphy was a pup before M & E got married. He was a loving and well loved member of the family. ( Erika would get mad at me if I called him “dog”)
There are no words to describe the sadness, the missing. You may remember the photos from his Tenth Birthday post last year.
Anna is nine now but here she is just home from Mercy Hospital
Murphy’s favorite tree in Virginia. He represented for the Weekly Photo Challenge: Peaceful. 
Photographed by Erika
In Hardy Virginia
Rest in Peace Murphy
Get in on Knit the Bridge Project NOW! Deadline is June 1st.
My friend Ellen sent me an email about the Knit the Bridge project. You know how we Pittsburghers feel about our bridges.
The Knit the Bridge project is a YARN BOMB thing planned for the Andy Warhol Bridge and is an outreach project for Fiberart International 2013 Knitting Communities together one bridge at a time
We even got together with another friend and knit a bit one evening. Well, not much. We were catching up on one another’s lives now that we don’t teach in the same school anymore. I was reluctant to commit to knit for the project as I had so many projects started. I thought I would knit one 17×17 inch square to help out. It has to be in acrylic yarn and bright colors are desired. I even went to the Red White and Blue Secondhand shop looking for donated yarn to purchase. No luck. The knit or crochet pieces/panels are due June first. There are directions and suggestions for the knit and/or crochet panels at the Knit the Bridge (wordpress blog) and all kinds of information if you want to consider participating. You can mail me your knit pieces and I will turn them in at a drop off point. Of course I plan to photograph the bridge when it is KNIT!
Now I have signed up to knit an entire panel. I’m just starting. It will be 72″ x 34″. Oh my. They need almost 600 panels!
What have I done? I bought some yarn and started my granddaughter Anna (9) on a square 17×17. Then Maura (4) wanted to sit on my lap and learn how to knit so I started her off and amazingly she seemed to “get it” right away. Both granddaughters are left handed so I didn’t know how to do it any differently from how I already knit.
Just got in from visiting the family in Ohio this weekend and so took a quick pic of the bag of yarn to knit in the foyer after I unpacked the car. I put the phone camera down into the bag of yarn and the hall light on the desk illuminated it through the white plastic bag.
Some crazy colors that should show up nicely.
I like to do plain knitting, back and forth, back and forth, watch it grow.
It calms me, sucks out my anxiety. I am going to be very peaceful and relaxed when it ‘s complete
with all that knitting required!
Kids Marvel at Typewriter
In this age of devices and flat screen tv, the kids marvel at my friend V’s typewriter. She said remembers how she used to type her college term papers on it in the early 70′s.
Michael (7) was fascinated with Tin-Tin and inspired by the typewriter he saw in the movie. He asked if I could bring one out to Ohio. V had given this to Laura when L was in high school. I had it in the hall closet. Michael typed the name of each member of the family and the others were mesmerized.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Change
Have you ever tried to?
Change your mind about something or someone?
Change-the only constant of our lives.
Oh, you changed your hair.
“You’ve got to change, baby”
Change trains.
I have a friend who can change the subject on a dime.
Many people don’t enjoy change.
I can change a diaper. Four quarters for a buck. Switch directions in the car when necessary. Change lanes.
But change?
Really truly change. Change my ways. Change my habits. Change my thinking?
Lots of people are worrying about Climate Change.
Subtle change, drastic change.
Here are some suggested change illustrations-
Hot Dog Vendor checks his supply of change.
Architecture changes over time.
The window dresser changes the window.
Waiting for the red light to change.
And you can always count on the weather to change,
the seasons to change-
although sometimes the pace is agonizingly slow.
Thanks to everyone who sent good words for the milestone 1300th post. Now what? Can’t change it up now, so here’s #1301.
This is a sad change- what it looked like about 7 years ago
On the way into school Friday morning. Steeler umbrella, daffodils, new green grass and a Spring rain NOT snow! A change for the better.
What Laura and James Found While Digging in their Garden
It’s gardening season finally. Planting grass seed. Thinking about what vegetables to plant. James and Laura were preparing their garden and found this Old School original Fisher-Price Little People® girl. Wooden head. Wooden body.
I think she got transferred from my son and his wife’s house to my daughter and her husband’s house. Not by a bird but a grandchild. Will have to check and see if the same girl is living in two homes.
Awhile ago I did a post on the various generations of the Little People® I’d come across at the family’s house in Columbus.
No worries about choking hazard when these were manufactured. And here’s the crazy part. I discovered a site that identifies the Little People®.
From what I could determine she’s from late 60s early 70s. On the site she is listed as Occupation: Girl.
I think they are a match!
Here are the three generations from the October 2011 post
Need an Ohio Spider ID
How do you feel about spiders?
Found under the kids’ sandbox when cleaned out on Sunday. Not sure if it is a biting spider or not. I had no idea there were so many types of spiders in the world.
Looked at some photos online but started to feel confused. Hope someone can tell what kind of a spider he is and if we should worry he is making his home underneath the sandbox.
Anyone have a clue?
I remember reading the kids a book when they were little -Be Nice To Spiders.
Longaberger Baskets Home Office Guest Blog
Laura drove past the home office of longaberger ( click for building specs)
Longaberger Baskets in Newark Ohio
Thanks for the shot today Laura! (taken March 25th )
I have to go there one of these days soon.
This basket shaped building was listed in the book of Ohio Oddities and you can tour the building but if you have a large group,call first.
Weekly Photo Challenge: A Day in My Life
The challenge came out Friday but this day is Saturday night til Sunday night- Easter! Not an ordinary day.
Puppeteer, Prometheus, Pizza and Pencils
Somewhere I read that alliteration should be avoided.
A rule somewhere. For writing or blogging but I can’t find the source with the rule about not using it, so here is the puppeteer on a break.
The kid on the scooter is looking at the puppeteer as if to ask what time is the next show? Central Park.
Prometheus at Rockefeller Center , Bringing Man the Gift of Fire.
A slice of Pizza on Bleecker Street and Seventh Avenue
And my friend R alerted me – March 30th is National Pencil Day. The date the patent for the pencil with the eraser on the end was granted in the year 1858.
Thank you Hymen Lipman!
I gathered up what pencils I could find and added the new box of Cedar Pointes I had in my computer bag. I love to write in pencil on a yellow legal pad. I’ve never liked mechanical pencils although I know some who swear by them. On March 30th we’re to write with a pencil but that will make blogging a challenge.
Five facts about pencils excerpted from this site
- A single wooden pencil can write 45,000 words
- A single wooden pencil or draw a line that is 35 miles long.
- Pencils can write under water.
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- John Steinbeck was an obsessive pencil user and is said to have used as many as 60 pencils a day. His novel East of Eden took more than 300 pencils to write.
- Henry David Thoreau penciled Walden Pond. After all, his father was a pencil manufacturer
- The last time I blogged about pencils was two years ago New Years when Anna sharpened every pencil in the house
NYC Locksmith and Metal Artist: Philip Mortillaro
Do you know how many times I have walked by this locksmith on 7th Avenue and it was always closed? The intricate collage of keys always caught my eye.
Wednesday morning, Mary and I were returning from the Post Office and the locksmith’s door was open.
Mr. Mortillaro was speaking with a customer. Mary walked on ahead but I signaled to her to wait. After the customer left, I entered and although I’d photographed the facade on other occasions, I asked the proprietor if I might photograph him. Mr. Mortillaro was totally welcoming and agreeable and here is the portrait I captured. He told me he has been a locksmith since age 14!
The links to his website and a trailer of a video are found at the end of the post.
Although he says he is not religious, he has actually made St. Peter (a gift) the Key to Heaven
Just like the New York Public Library- Patience and Fortitude guard the entrance.
You can see a trailer to Mr. Mortillaro’s video Do Not Duplicate
and visit his website to see his Metal Art
NYC Afternoon
Corey is filming his cousin Michael and his brother Justin is resting up for his ride. Watched this effort for awhile. They used to skateboard. I talked to them and asked if I could put them on the blog.
And now it is Justin’s turn
E Rossi Co doesn’t have any pictures of the new pope yet, but are expecting delivery soon.
Seems everyone is on some sort of device.
The hair color (above) matches the shoes on the man below!
And a Fiat 500 but not sure what year? Anyone??
Bleecker Street West Village
On a cell phone while making a delivery.
Good thing it isn’t the Sunday Times
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