April 2020 – Ruth E. Hendricks Photography

Twin Pink Dogwoods in Full Blossom

Is it full blossom or full bloom?

After being at home for so long it feels strange to be in the car. I drove out today to the Post Office, to deliver and mail some masks to friends and family. On my way home, I saw these gorgeous pink dogwood trees in full bloom. Good thing the name of the church is embossed in stone above the doors. I was distracted when I pulled over to take a quick photo of the blossoming trees on my phone.

Christ Lutheran Church in Millvale on Evergreen Road. Perhaps they stood out since it was a gray and gloomy day but these twin dogwoods brightened the landscape and were amazing to see. I did google the Legend of the Dogwood that was in the recesses of my mind , the symbolism of the blossoms and but the legend was debunked as no Dogwood grows in Israel. I think somewhere there is a postcard in my possession with the legend printed on it.

April 30, 2020 by Ruth Categories: PhotographyTags: blossoming trees, blossoms, Christ Lutheran Church, church, Dogwood, Evergreen Road, flowering trees, Millvale PA, photography, Pink Dogwood, postaday, Spring, trees 9 Comments

Germany 1984 Throwback Thursday

My parents visited when we lived in Germany. I drove them to see Munich, Garmisch, Berchtesgaden and then onto Salzburg, Austria. It was a Bavarian Alps Road Trip. Here they are posing for me with their grandchildren Mark, Matthew and Laura. It was a happy time together.

April 29, 2020 by Ruth Categories: Photography, Throwback ThursdayTags: Bavarian Alps, childhood, family, Germany, grandchildren, memories, photography, postaday, road trip, Throwback Thursday, travel 12 Comments

Superman – From the Archives

November 2011. Hardy, Virginia

Grandson Jack, as Superman, scales the wall at his other grandparents’ home.

April 28, 2020 by Ruth Categories: PhotographyTags: archives. grandson, childhood, family, Hardy VA, photography, postaday, Superman, travel 11 Comments

Raisins- Yes or No?

My friend Bill’s sister used to make him a raisin pie. I believe it was for his birthday. One time I made raisin filled cookies for him once he told me. He would be a YES on the raisin question.

And then there is the NO response to Raisins- Yes or No?

I have a friend who prefers oatmeal cookies without raisins in them. Not sure if he dislikes raisins or just in cookies.

The other day on Zoom virtual knitting group we were talking about pick-up bakery items available at Jean Marc Chatellier French Bakery in Millvale. You can order via phone and pick up baked goods between 10-1, different items available different days. Then someone in our Zoom Virtual Knitting group asked if the Apple Strudel made by Jean-Marc had raisins in it.(no was the answer) Another participant said they hoped the apple strudel didn’t have raisins in it because “Raisins are the Devil’s Candy!” I’d never heard of that expression before. Have you? Sure enough when I googled I found a 2015 blog post with that very title. Oh my. A rant agains the lowly raisin? Who knew?

Last week a reader objected to the rice pudding with raisins in it when I posted a few days ago. Yes to the Rice Puddings but No to the Raisins.

Ready to make Raisins Filled Cookies . Raisins plumped by covering with boiling water.

https://www.almanac.com/recipe/old-fashioned-raisin-filled-cookies

April 30 is National raisin day

And the story of the image of the Maid on the Raisin box who passed away in 1983

So which is it-

Raisins. Yes or No?

April 27, 2020April 28, 2020 by Ruth Categories: foodTags: apple strudel, bakery, cookies, Evesham, food, golden raisins, Jean-Marc Chatellier, kitchen, photography, postaday, raisin filled cookies, raisin pie, raisins, rice pudding, taste 37 Comments

Socks in a Basket

As I folded the pairs, I realized all the hand knit socks I’d made (plus one spring green pair knit my Sabine Bornemann at Die Wollnerin in Berlin) were clean at the same time. It’s the second time I’ve washed all of them since shelter in place started. I read that Sabine’s hand dyed yarn store in Berlin has now reopened, allowing two customers at a time

Lots of places and friends represented by the different yarns from Alaska, Germany, Norway, Arizona, New Zealand, Florida. Can you find the yarn I received for my July 4th birthday? (thanks Joanne). The sock monkey pair? There’s the desert plant dyed yarn and gifts from woolswappers halfway across the globe.

My new method is the hand wash setting on the machine and hung out to air dry in my bathroom. I used to hand wash them and roll in a towel.

My daughter’s sock drawer she texted me pic a year ago. I see ***Wonder Woman*** and **Good and Plenty**

April 26, 2020 by Ruth Categories: knitting, PhotographyTags: available light, Berlin, hand knit socks, home, knitting, Laundry, photography, Pittsburgh, postaday, shelter in place, socks 17 Comments

Silent Sunday

Cathedral Basilica St. Augustine Florida

April 25, 2020 by Ruth Categories: Photography, silent SundayTags: anchor, archives, Cathedral Basilica, colored glass, Florida, lion, photography, postaday, silent Sunday, St.Augustine, stained glass window, symbols, travel 9 Comments

Goodbye to the O – Original Hot Dog Shop- Oakland Pittsburgh

My friend Roberta sent me a Post-Gazette article this evening, An elegy to the ‘O’: A beloved hot dog shop closes after 60 years written by Mick Stinelli and Dan Gigler. It told about the sad and sudden closing of The Original Hot Dog Shop. A long time late night favorite in the heart of Oakland adjacent to University of Pittsburgh. Upon closing they donated “7 tons of potatoes to charity”. (They were famous for their fries)

We’d get a couple of hot dogs and share the huge order of fries, sometimes before a Poetry Reading at Hemingway’s. Or after. No matter what time you ate there, it was a familiar and reliable taste and experience.

Here’s a photo I took of the landmark from a 2010 blog post.