I had to put the car in reverse and pull over. Yes, it seemed blog worthy. I have shot the laundromat before. I drive by it most days. Grateful for a washer and dryer in my very own basement. I like the smell of laundromats. Clean laundry. You could get Chuckles in the vending machine in the one on Highland Ave. One time I went with some friends to see a little play in a laundromat in Shadyside. Figures made from dryer lint. I wonder who thought to drape the sting of lights on the sign.
Just across the river, home of two of my favorite places-Panza Gallery where Mark Panza frames my pictures and makes them shine and Jean-Marc Chatellier’s Bakery, whose excellent brioche melts in your mouth (not to mention the cakes, the shortbread, the tarts, the cookies, the baguettes, the anything
he bakes). Saturday night was the Big Love Art Show at Panza’s and as we left to get into the parked car, I saw this scene outside the Millvale Borough Building. Several of the buildings have water line marks from the years the town has flooded.
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.
Syon Abbey’s groundbreaking took place in 2002.You’re driving along the Blue Ridge Parkway and then you see it across a huge green field. I didn’t realize it was built so recently.
Streetlights, headlights, moon. Bedford Square. A stripe of cloud by the moon. Always practicing my night photography. Trying to avoid excessive graininess. Enjoying the time off from work to restore.
It was all candles. Candles on the mantel, the table, the desk in the hall. It was very dark. I thought all of us looked great by candlelight. We discussed The Help and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The power was off for about two hours. Fortunately the night before I baked a Gateau di Sirop (recipe)with a bottle of Steen’s Cane Syrup. Baked Split Second Cookies with Bon Maman Fig Jam. Extra sharp cheddar and Honeycrisp apple slices. And Tess and Chris brought me a box of St. Moritz truffles from Oxford Centre downtown. Lovely. A gold box with an oval window in the middle. There’s a spider and a tiny dancer one and a pumpkin one and each one is delicately embellished. Just before everyone arrived, Laura had sent a picture on my phone of a lovely ring on a finger. Then she called. James Weaver asked her to marry him and she said YES. It was a happy night!
Wagner’s Shoes in Lawrenceville. I bought discontinued Dansko clogs on sale. You know how I like to live in them all the time. Seems most shoe salespeople in shoestores disappear into the back and magically reappear with boxes. Here you can see the storeroom with the stacks of shoe boxes, right there. A tin ceiling way high. First time to shop in Wagner’s. The storefront has stained glass above the awning. Great service. 4313 Butler St (412) 682-2759. Scroll down for exterior view.
Still a few views from the Quad Cities weekend.
An enamel. But when I saw her looking at it I saw all of the surrounding items as well. Quite a gallery.
June 2009. Jackson Square in the Heart of the French Quarter.
