December 2010 – Page 3 – Ruth E. Hendricks Photography

Joy in Winter

Spread the Christmas tablecloth and place the matching plate next to the mug of steaming hot tea. Take two Split-Second cookies out of a tin. The ones I baked for knitting. A bite of shortbread cookie with raspberry jam. Try the fig one. Nibble slowly, make them last. Sip the almost scalding tea. Savor the combination. Open the book you’re reading for book club. (Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner-1972 Pulitzer Prize- I’d never heard of it until Tess picked it). Listen to the furnace kick on. Wrap a shawl around you. Sip more tea. Read until you doze. Think of the cookies still in the tin. Repeat tomorrow.

I love the Naif Christmas pattern. — It wouldn't feel the same if you did this in July.

December 11, 2010December 10, 2010 by Ruth Categories: Cooking and EatingTags: available light, baking, cookies, memories, Naif, photo of the day, photography, Pittsburgh, split second cookies, tea, winter scene 11 Comments

Making Spirits Bright

Christmas Lights on a house in Highland Park — Almost a gingerbread house, sparkling in the snow. Good thing there is a fence to keep in the reindeer!

December 10, 2010December 9, 2010 by Ruth Categories: Night Light in the CityTags: available light, childhood, Christmas lights, front porch, HIghland Park, holiday decorations, lights at night, memories, neighborhood, night photography, photo of the day, photoblog, photography, Pittsburgh, sidewalk, urban scene, winter scene 5 Comments

Customer Service at Von Maur

Fed Ex delivery and attnetion to detail. — A personal note, a carefully wrapped package,shipped for free to my home- reasons to shop at Von Maur.

The size I needed was in another store when I went shopping in Columbus OH last Saturday night. Wednesday night I opened the box they shipped (free!) and found the thoughtful note from the woman who had waited on me so graciously. As I opened the box, I remembered shopping with my mother when I was little. The experience evoked a sense of nostalgia. Von Maur offers not only free- shipping and free alterations but who receives a hand-written note these days? Customer service is exemplary. My DIL says they gift wrap your purchases for free, too! WOW. I wish we had a Von Maur in Pittsburgh.

December 9, 2010 by Ruth Categories: photo of the day, PlacesTags: Columbus OH, customer service, department store, photo blog, photo of the day, photography, shopping, Von Maur 10 Comments

Snow Enhances Lights

Left school so late that it was dark. Drove a circuitous route home to check out the lights in Morningside. The house I have photographed the past two years didn’t have a single light. Thinking about the possible reasons for no lights this year but maybe they just moved. This house up the street looked lovely in the snow with the greens and ribbons on the white fence.

Looks like a Christmas card. — Looks more like New England than Pittsburgh to me.

December 8, 2010 by Ruth Categories: Night Light in the City, Pittsburgh PhotosTags: available light, celebration, childhood, Christmas decorations, Christmas lights, city scene, front porch, HIghland Park, neighborhood, night photography, photo of the day, photoblog, photography, picture of the day, Pittsburgh, sidewalk, snow, urban scene, winter scene 8 Comments

Keeping the Darkness at Bay

No one seems worried about the electric bills! The days are growing shorter and the light displays increasing.

What an effort! Wonder where they store them all year long. — East Liberty off Negley Avenue.

December 7, 2010December 5, 2010 by Ruth Categories: Night Light in the City, Pittsburgh PhotosTags: available light, childhood, Christmas lights, city scene, front porch, holiday decorations, memories, neighborhood, night photography, photo of the day, photoblog, photography, Pittsburgh, urban scene, winter scene 7 Comments

With Hopes for St. Nicholas

No hay or carrots to leave in the wooden shoes for St. Nicholas’ horse tonight. My father brought these shoes back from the Netherlands sometime after WWII. I dusted them off as they sit by the fireplace, untouched. When we lived in Germany, St. Nicholas came through the neighborhood, bringing candy and little gifts for the children. Matthew’s Kindergarten made a St. Nicholas by drawing a face on a walnut and sticking it into an upside down red apple, connecting it with a wooden toothpick inside. The nut had a foil bishop’s mitre on top, and a fluffy cotton beard. His story tells of a compassionate and generous man.

December 6, 2010December 5, 2010 by Ruth Categories: Childhood, photo of the dayTags: holiday, Netherlands, Saint Nicholas, St. Nicholas Day, St.Nicholas, traditions, wooden shoes 8 Comments

Between the Neon Beer Signs on Carson Street

South Side. There is a house sandwiched between storefronts and bars on Carson. Here is how it looked Friday night. In this view you can’t see the Jockey lawn ornament by the life-size Santa and Mrs. Claus.

December 5, 2010December 4, 2010 by Ruth Categories: Night Light in the CityTags: celebration, Christmas decorations, Christmas lights, city scene, front porch, neighborhood, night photography, photo of the day, photography, south side, urban scene, winter scene 8 Comments

“You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out”

We watched A Christmas Story (1983) over Thanksgiving.

Friday night I walked by this window on Carson St after listening to Don Hollowood and the King Cobras at Excuses. Saw the display and thought anyone who has seen this holiday movie would enjoy the picture. Found out it was shot in Cleveland. When I was in high school I used to listen to Jean Shepherd on the radio. I never knew anyone whose tongue stuck on a frozen flagpole.

Red Ryder Box on the Right — Ralphie in the pink bunny suit sits under the fishnet leg lamp, Red Ryder on the right.

December 4, 2010 by Ruth Categories: Night Light in the City, Pittsburgh RiversTags: A Christmas Story, available light, Carson St, childhood, city scene, holiday decoration, memories, night photography, photo of the day, photoblog, photography, Pittsburgh, Ralphie, sidewalk, south side, urban scene, window decoration', winter scene 9 Comments

Urban Bird Housing

Driving from one school to another I vary my route. Not specifically looking for photos, just trying to find a good way to go with the least traffic flow. Colorful bird houses dangling from the branches of a city tree made me smile.

December 3, 2010December 2, 2010 by Ruth Categories: Light in the City, Pittsburgh Photos, What I Saw on the Way to SchoolTags: birdhouse, Bloomfield, city scene, neighborhood, photo of the day, photoblog, photography, picture of the day, Pittsburgh, sidewalk, urban scene 13 Comments

First Snow

As I left school, I saw the snow on the tree. When I walked across the street I saw the Scarecrow people and the ever-blooming flowers in the hanging pot! Happy December

Right across the street from school I saw this tree with a dusting of snow — I didn't get the Blessed Mother in the shot, but she was there!

December 2, 2010December 1, 2010 by Ruth Categories: Light in the City, Pittsburgh PhotosTags: arlington, December, first snow, front porch, holiday decorations, neighborhood, photo of the day, photoblog, photography, picture of the day, Pittsburgh, school, snow, tree, urban scene, winter scene 6 Comments

Month: December 2010

Joy in Winter

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Making Spirits Bright

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Customer Service at Von Maur

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Snow Enhances Lights

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Keeping the Darkness at Bay

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With Hopes for St. Nicholas

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Between the Neon Beer Signs on Carson Street

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“You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out”

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Urban Bird Housing

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First Snow

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