Chocolate, Eggs, Signs of Spring

Eataly Chocolate

Eataly Display

eggs in le creuset

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Woman on Cell Phone Carrying a Tulip

Box of chocolates

The Biggest Box of Chocolates I’ve Seen

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Godiva Chocolate Covered Strawberries

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Rockefeller Center Chocolates

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Plantings About to Bloom on Fifth Avenue

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Unusual Flavors at Gourmet Garage

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Ice Cream Truck

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Balloons and Toys

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.

Central Park Puppeteer

Prometheus at Rockefeller Center , Bringing Man the Gift of Fire.

Prometheus

 A slice of Pizza on Bleecker Street and Seventh Avenue
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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.
    • 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

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Imagine, Standing with Van Gogh, St. Patrick’s Scaffolded, Mercury, Ribbons for Peace, Patience

We walked through Strawberry Fields and saw the Imagine mosaic.  A man sat on a bench playing the guitar.  We wondered why he wasn’t strumming a Beatles tune.  We walked over the to the Frick Collection and saw the Piero della Francesca in America , no photography allowed.

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At the Metropolitan Museum of Art

you could stand around all day and take photos of people being photographed with Vincent Van Gogh’s self portrait.

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The scaffolding on St.Patrick’s Cathedral will be in place for three to four years.

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Lit a candle in St. Patrick’s.

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Mercury at Rockefeller Center

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Prayers for Peace. I read the sign and took the photo.  After I crossed the street I realized just how many ribbons there were on the fence surrounding the church.

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We walked down Fifth Avenue from 72nd St to 10th St

Mary and I stood at Washington Square in the late afternoon sun for long shadows.

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NYC Locksmith and Metal Artist: Philip Mortillaro

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.

Keys Made Locksmith

Ket to Heaven

Although he says he is not religious, he has actually made St. Peter (a gift)  the Key to Heaven 

Complaint Department

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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

Do Not Duplicate Trailer

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.

Thomas Paine Park

And now it is Justin’s turn

Justin Jumps over the Stairs

Pizza  Man and Religious Statues

E Rossi Co doesn’t have any pictures of the new pope yet,  but are expecting delivery soon.

E Rossi Co Mosaic

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Seems everyone is on some sort of device.

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The hair color (above)  matches the shoes on the man below!

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And a Fiat 500 but not sure what year?  Anyone??

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Bleecker Street  West Village

Bleecker Street Women

On a cell phone while making a delivery.

Cell phone on bicycle

Good thing it isn’t the Sunday Times

Dog carries newspaper

Jane’s Carousel Sunday Afternoon

We took the subway to Brooklyn and walked to Jane’s Carousel. Click the name to read all about how it was  lovingly restored by artist Jane Walentas

This is the lead horse.  (I asked.)  I’d shown the students a photo of the carousel during Hurricane Sandy and because of the flooding, a stereo is providing the music until the original can be repaired. There was a birthday party happening while we were there. I talked to a Grandpa on the bench next to us after we rode.  He said he would love to own a carousel.

Lead Horse Jane's Carousel

tickets for the carousel

Mary and I rode the Carousel, she took a horse that went up and down and I chose one that was stationary so I could snap some photos.

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Mary's Horse on Carousel

The horse that Mary rode.

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View of man flying a kite under the Brooklyn Bridge, photographed from the Carousel.

And then something fun happened.  Mary and I were eating at a picnic table, hot cross buns and bananas.  A photographer was sneaking a photo of us with a periscope lens.  Ha!  Turns out it was a Photographer and Model Collaborative Meetup Event happening right by the Carousel at one in the afternoon.

Here is a photo of some of the photographers who gathered to shoot the models.

Photographers Meet Up

I see a couple of photographers hiding behind their cameras.   Rather take the shot than be in it, maybe?

Meet Marlena from Poland.  A model.

Marlena from Poland

And check out Marlena’s shoes

high heeled shoes

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The photographer who is smiling, sporting the red pants, is the one who took a nice photo of my sister and me under the Brooklyn Bridge  when I asked if he would mind.   That was before we knew there was a meet-up of photographers! Thanks for photographing us together.

Thought it would be fun to be in the shot with my sister.

Ruth and Mary

New Jersey Photographer

We met this New Jersey photographer as we waited in line for the rest room.

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This couple is photographing themselves.  No photographer needed.

And then Mary and I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan.

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Here is Jane’s Carousel view from the Brooklyn Bridge towards the Manhattan Bridge.

First time I’d heard of Dumbo, Brooklyn (Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass- Acronym)

Manhattan Bridge and Jane's Carousel

Peeking out at the traffic below.  YIKES!IMG_5702

New York City Sweet Tooth

French Tourists

French Tourists Outside The Magnolia Bakery

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I really wanted to photograph the line outside the bakery.   When we went there on Saturday evening there were customers but no line.

My sister loves me a lot. She walked with me up Bleecker Street after our outing to Brooklyn.

I was able to photograph the line.

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Tourists from Japan on Sunday Afternoon – they found the reference in a guide book

Line at Magnolia Bakery

Here is the line at the Magnolia Bakery.  Often photographed and talked about.   My sister found a site online with 282 photographs of Magnolia Bakery products. Guess I was a little late with my desire to take this photo.  But I did it anyway.

Earlier in the day we walked through Chinatown on Mott Street

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Mary and I ate these delicious Hot Cross Buns from Rocco’s Pasticceria after we rode Jane’s Carousel  (part of tomorrow’s post)

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Rabbits at Bruno Bakery

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Anna Banana Cupcake

Cupcakes in the Angelique Cafe Food Cart

Doo Wop Group Select Blendz
Select Blendz-  Doo Wop Group in front of Amy’s Bread on Bleecker St.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Future Tense

This week’s challenge is just that- a challenge. How could I capture the future in a photograph NOW?

I’m going with this portion of the challenge…..Anything that involves the present and a hint of the future all in one frame.” 

Freedom Tower,  New York City.  Under construction. 1 World Trade Center.   We walked farther downtown and the gusts of wind went up to 35 mph according to the weather.  Sunshine and chill.

Daytime view and nighttime view of Freedom Tower.

And when I looked at the shot I took from my sister’s apartment window, I saw a stream of light come down from the clouds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Freedom Tower

 

 

 

 

Freedom Tower from the Village

 

 

 

Freedom Tower Night View

 

 

 

 

 

Other bloggers interpretations to check out here

Francine in Retirement from Pittsburgh with O Death Where is thy Sting? and a photograph of a Pittsburgh cemetery

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Thinking Spring. Seriously!

Even though the weather is NOT cooperating, we won’t speak of w#&*#r, cause it is SPRING!!!  (Dear Groundhog Phil, You were wrong wrong wrong)

March 20 was Mr. Rogers’ 85 anniversary of his birth and Pittsburghers were sporting sweaters to remember him.  And sweaters were just what everyone needed in the city-  Yesterday AND today!   Not sure about the sneakers. 

When I looked out and saw snow coming down I was glad I’d baked apples in the oven to warm the kitchen.

After supper the family called on Face Time and I got to participate in Jack’s birthday and the other grandma (and Pap) were on another iPad FaceTime so we saw each other watch the birthday boy open his gifts.  It got pretty wild when Matty called in on SKYPE from Croatia onto his brothers device  He joined in the fun and we all watched as Jack opened up the No Stress Chess his Uncle Matthew had sent to him.  It was a deviceful family event this evening as Jack turned 6 today.

Helps to have all these communication possibilities available when you live out of town.

The wooden rabbits are from Germany when we lived there.  I took them to school and some of the students arranged them to take pictures, make a card.  And I saw them set up on a wooden stool at the front of the classroom and I took a quick photo myself as they were looking at me as I got ready to go home.

You can see the pull down screen behind them.  They look Spring-like to me!!!  (Just don’t look out the window.)

 

Wooden Rabbits