April 2013 – Page 3 – Ruth E. Hendricks

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

April 11, 2013April 11, 2013 by Ruth Categories: ChildhoodTags: childhood, Fisher-Price little people, gardening, nostalgia, old school, photography, play, postaday, This Old Toy, toy, travel, vintage 8 Comments

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.

April 9, 2013April 9, 2013 by Ruth Categories: PhotographyTags: arachnid, childhood, Columbus OH, home, insects and spiders, nature, postaday, sandbox, spider, Spring Clean Up, travel 18 Comments

Portrait of Husband Who Waits for Wife While She Shops in the Shoe Department

How about this department store for ambience? Hospitality?

Von Maur Department Store in Columbus, Ohio at Polaris Mall. This is Donald, my son’s father-in-law waiting in a comfortable chair by the fireplace in the shoe department. I was shopping too and saw him sitting there and had to photograph him in this elegant setting.

A few weeks before, Anna had told me that a Giant Sock Monkey was on sale at Von Maur. (What’s a grandmother for?) Making sock monkeys for all the grandchildren had kept me busy but this one was giant.

My sister and I drove out from NYC the day before. Early Friday morning we went and and picked up the Giant Sock Monkey and had taken it to the car as a surprise for later. He’d been in the Customer Service Department where they said they were feeding him bananas daily. A couple of weeks ago, I’d called from Pittsburgh and ordered him by phone and asked them to save him for pick up at Easter time. There was a thank you note from the sales associate Taylor attached to the huge package. thanking me for my purchase. The Customer Service at Von Maur is excellent.

Anyway, Anna wanted to show me something in the Children’s Department but when we got to the spot, whatever she wanted to show me was GONE. Little did she know that the Giant Sock Monkey was already wearing a seat belt in my back seat. It was a fun day.

April 9, 2013April 9, 2013 by Ruth Categories: Family, PhotographyTags: Columbus OH, customer service, department store, family, fashion, Giant Sock Monkey, interior decor, postaday, shoe department, shopping, sock monkeys, Von Maur Department Store 12 Comments

Anna and Her Sock Monkey Photo Shoot

Anna set up the sock monkey clan in the family room and photographed them. The most cooperative subjects you would wish for. A couple sock monkeys must have been hiding but collecting four grandchildren’s monkeys is the challenging part. Trying to get the real family for a group shot is much more difficulty. I get a kick out of the kids trying out their photography skills. Anna(9) photographed this one with the iPad. Thanks Anna for the guest blog.

April 8, 2013April 8, 2013 by Ruth Categories: Childhood, Guest Blog, photo of the day, PhotographyTags: childhood, family, humor, photography, postaday, sock monkey, toys 22 Comments

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.

April 7, 2013April 7, 2013 by Ruth Categories: Guest Blog, photo of the dayTags: architecture, Baskets, longaberger, novelty architecture, ohio, postaday, sight seeing, tour, travel 11 Comments

Black Pussywillow Branches Cast Wall Shadows

When we lived in Germany, we’d get Pussywillow with fuzzy gray shapes along the branch and hang wooden eggs and rabbit ornaments to make an Easter Tree.

Add MediaI’d never seen Black Pussywillows until Wednesday night at my friend J’s home. I was to take a photograph over to her and the evening turned into an impromptu supper. My crazy part is I went over without the picture I was to take. J followed me back to my house after we ate and got the photograph to take back to her own home but she didn’t seem to mind.

A great blog post about this unusual looking plant is here. The Latin name (Salix gracilistylus ‘Melanostachys’)

I can’t remember the name/type of ceramic vase holding the branches. (Taken with the iPhone)

April 7, 2013April 7, 2013 by Ruth Categories: Garden, PhotographyTags: arts, available light, black pussywillows, Easter Tree, friendship, gardening, nature, photography, planting, postaday, pussywillow, shadow, Spring, Spring bouquet, vintage 10 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge: Color

Color

April 6, 2013April 6, 2013 by Ruth Categories: Photography, Weekly Photo ChallengeTags: bicycle, Chihuly glass, color, Elvis, Firehouse, flowers, King Cake, mustard, neckties, postaday, pretzel, tropical bird, velvet painting, Volkswagen, weekly photo challenge 30 Comments

Hot Time, Cell Phones in the City

Street photography isn’t my thing. Funny to say that after posting loads of NYC city street photos the last week but I mean being a true street photographer is not my genre. Photographing people unaware hasn’t really appealed to me and I felt awkward or intrusive. But in an hours time walking down Fifth Avenue I took 165 photos of people on their cell phones. A lot of them while crossing the street without looking. It wasn’t a plan and I made a little movie of the photos but the end result was monotonous and boring. Even though I got it down to a minute thirty three seconds it was a snoozer. You can determine if the ones I have chosen to illustrate my experience produce boredom in the viewer.

In a couple of the photos you can see three or four people on phones at once.

This is not going to be an ongoing effort to capture people using technology in public. The good thing is it allowed me to get more comfortable on the sidewalk photographing people. Of course, it wasn’t a fair playing field as they were definitely distracted and ignoring me which is how I was able to lift the camera to my eye and take their picture.

How have cell phones affected the way we live? Our human interaction?

There are posters around the city that say HEADS UP showing a guy on his cell phone and a vehicle turning into the crosswalk.

Three on phones in one frame

Crossing the street

Crossing the street

Otherwise engaged

April 4, 2013April 4, 2013 by Ruth Categories: PhotographyTags: cell phone, communication, cross walk, Fifth Avenue, New York City, people in the city, people on cell phones, sidewalk, smart phone, technology, texting, traffic 21 Comments

A Tribute to Cleo- A Much Loved Italian Greyhound

Sixteen in dog years is getting up there. 112. But no matter if a faithful dog is old or ill, she is going to be sorely missed. She was well loved and cared for but she got sick and just couldn’t get better.

Cleo and her sister Xena, who passed on before, came as tiny puppies many Christmases ago to live with Donald and Marlene, my daughter-in-law’s parents. I heard the story that they were about the size of mice. Cleo and Xena traveled to visit the family every visit. And they would greet us eagerly when we all drove down to Virginia for Labor Day or Thanksgiving or Memorial Day weekends.

Italian Greyhounds grace many an oil painting or tapestry in the world’s museums. This special dog, Cleo,was a much loved member of the family. It’s a sad day.

Sympathy and love to you Marlene and Donald. I know you will miss her terribly.

Xena and Cleo, sisters, in happier days

April 4, 2013April 4, 2013 by Ruth Categories: dogs, Family, PhotographyTags: cleo, dog, family, Italian Greyhound, pet loss, tiny puppies, tribute 12 Comments

NYC Transportation

Another gallery from NYC trip over Spring Break.

Remember the 25,000 dollar Pyramid Game Show? A category is on the card and your partner lists all the things that are in that category. Things that Have Wheels? Things that you ride? Things that help you get around.