We’re Really Going to Appreciate the Arrival of Spring This Year

Here is Long Tail the feral cat in the garage.  You may know the story about Ann next door who was in her nineties and passed and we caught two of the four young cats she’d collected and had them neutered and vaccinated and released.  How they survive the sub zero temps is astounding. Steve feeds them and made a shelter.

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winter scenes Pittsburgh 1the garage floor cause the door is open.  Great snow dusting on old leaves for texture.

Winter Sun and Shadow at School

As I arrived, I noticed sunlight.

It’s been pretty gray around here.  Twenty four days until Spring.

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Winter City

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Just the tips of the top of the PPG building, reminded me of a sandcastle at the beach.

 

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And up over the hill, the rest of the skyline.

You can see the barge lane in the middle of the icy Monongahela River. Don’t let the blue sky fool you, it was really cold.

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A panorama taken with the Sony Mirrorless camera. First time I used this feature.

 

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This was actually the first shot Monday afternoon as I pulled out of the school lot.

First time the sun had shown itself in awhile.

School Breakfast at my Desk

A two hour delay again this morning.

For the first time in three years, I got breakfast from the cafeteria the other day. The “bagel” doughy and sweet but I was hungry.

You can see a pair of #35 knitting needles peeking out on the left.  Coffee provided by my neighbor the librarian.School Breakfast

Do You Have a Sentimental Toy from Childhood?

Laura asked me if I could find Ned.  That wasn’t his name when he was purchased in 1987.

She received this Cabbage Patch Premie for her fourth birthday.

I dug around in a closet and found him, a little soiled on his feet and hands.  I washed him and then his little outfit.

When I was soaking the doll hands in the suds, it looked as if he was washing his own clothes and diaper.

I’ll take him out to Laura when I visit.

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Before getting a bathCabbage Patch Doll

Thirds or Threes, Skip the Bokeh

The Weekly Photo Challenge is supposedly the Rule of Thirds but the presentation of the challenge  is so completely different from what I have been taught and teach- I thought of adding the grid on some of these images to size them up. But decided to just go with what I see as broken up into thirds, or in some cases threes.

Confined myself to a NYC archive to simplify the selections.  My gallery doesn’t fit the parameters of the suggested minimalist, off center subject and a blurry background.

Portrait at Panza’s and Friday Night Take Out

Everyone who knows me and  what’s in Millvale PA, was pretty sure I was at Jean-Marc Chatellier Bakery when they saw yesterday’s post of the snow topped mailboxes.

Not this trip-  although I wish I’d thought of when I was over there.

Right after school I drove in the snow and met my wonderful printer, Tom, to pick up a print.  Tom was waiting on the side of street on 31st  between Liberty and Penn, right before the 31st Street bridge.

His good idea so I could get to Millvale before closing.

I was dropping off a print to be framed at my favorite framer, Mark Panza Gallery. He and his daughter Jennifer do an excellent job.  I always leave there with a rejuvenation in spirit and lots of creative ideas after we talk.

Mark took this photo me with my new SONY mirrorless camera, testing it out.

I love the vintage mannequins in the background as they are waitng for pick-up to be in a movie being filmed in Millvale and Pittsburgh.

Thanks for taking this photo of me Mark.  

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and here is our selfie  usie  taken with the tilt screen option that opens up.

I made it a tad smaller so I don’t feel so bulky when I look at it.

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I cropped myself out and got a nice portrait of Mark

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Steve brought in take out tonight. Fish sandwich and slaw.  I reheated the sandwich in the oven.  Mmmmmm.

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Snowfall on St. Peter and Paul School

East Liberty, Larimer Avenue.

The empty school sits behind the twin-spired church, the one that’s closed.

I saw the architecture through the snow-

from the lot where I was parking.

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