Zadar on the Adriatic Sea- Guest Blog

Today I had a nice surprise in my inbox from my son Matthew.

He sent beautiful photographs of Zadar, Croatia photographed by Maja.

Thank you Maja.  

Perfect for a guest blog today.  What a stunning blue sky!

Zadar Croatia

The Adriatic Sea.

 

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St. Donatus Church and the Roman Forum in Zadar

 

Zadar Croatia

Boats in the Harbor

 

 

 

 

Zadar Croatia

Looks like Spring is here!

 

 

Zadar Croatia

 

 

Zadar Croatia

 

 

Adriatic Sea

Waves on the sea wall catching the sunlight.

 

 

 

Adriatic Sea

 

 

 

 

Hail Storm in Zagreb Croatia- Guest Post

In my email this morning-

Dear Mom,

 A hail storm broke out in Zagreb today and my friend Maja captured it with her iPhone from her 9th floor office.  She was a little bit reluctant to be blogged, but she had this to say about the picture :   “It looked so great and it made me so happy that I wanted to share it.”

And it reminded me of the sentence from the film “American Beauty” – “Sometimes there’s so much beauty in the world, I feel like I can’t take it, and my heart is just going to cave in.”

I think that quote is a great motto for us to live by.  You and your blog do a great job reminding us all of the beauty that surrounds us every moment of every day, so I knew what to do with Maja’s picture right away!

 Love you,

Matty

Thank you Maja for sharing your beautiful photograph of the hailstorm from the ninth floor window and thanks Matty, too.  

Hail Storm Zagreb Croatia

Weekly Photo Challenge: Home

Michael and Murphy
Michael and Murphy

 

 

Home Game Home Plate
Home Game Home Plate
Homes on Hillcrest
Homes on Hillcrest
Steve and the Newpaper
Steve and the Newpaper
Croatian Homes and Roman Ruins
Croatian Homes and Roman Ruins
In the Sun Room in Omaha
In the Sun Room in Omaha
Beechwood Boulevard Home
Beechwood Boulevard Home
Maura and Mark at Home Asleep
Maura and Mark at Home Asleep
Christmas Home
Christmas Home
At Home Before Church
At Home Before Church
She's Leaving Home
She’s Leaving Home
Over the Top Home in Daylight
Over the Top Home in Daylight
Running to Home
Running to Home

 

Neighbor's Home in a Lawn Ball
Neighbor’s Home in a Lawn Ball

I can’t believe it took me so long to start responding to the Weekly Photo Challenges.  All those challenges unanswered.

This week is home.   The WordPress Weekly Challenge allows me to go through some archived files and think about the theme.

What I’m drawn to. What caught my eye.

No shortage of photos to post for home this week.

When I drive into my driveway after work I feel I am truly home.  What makes you feel at home?

The gallery option isn’t really cooperating for me today. (Ooops. I read in the article  Are You Boring? Seven Tips for Knowing if You ‘re Boring Someone  on the Happiness Project  blog by Gretchen Rubin to never  mention computer problems)

 

Laundry on Line in Croatia

July 2008 From the Archives
July 2008 From the Archives

Croatian Church Sign

 

 

 

 

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Plitvice Lakes- Waterfalls in National Park Croatia

Peaceful reflection in the National Park in Croatia-Plitvice Lakes

Summer
Summer 2008    from the archives

 

32 Years Later

 

Happy Birthday Matthew. Remember when we pulled off Interstate 80 on the way to NYC last August?

Here you are last summer in front of your first home in Clarion PA. The house we brought you to from the hospital, 32 years ago.

Of course I didn’t send a card, just like last year!  So this is my birthday wish for you.  A day filled with love!

You sure give all of us a lot of love.  (Matthew’s the one who says about my photographing people, It’s annoying now, but later you’re glad)

Thinking of you today and everyday.

love. Ma

 

 

 

 

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Foreign

The Weekly Photo Challenge: Foreign  was enough to make me scramble-  find Croatian photos from my trip visiting Matthew about 4 years ago.

Steel Making- Braddock PA

Edgar Thomson Plant  United States Steel    Mon Valley Works in Braddock, PA Shot less than two weeks ago

How does color or lack of it affect a photograph? What about cropping?

The five photos below are all from one master image.

Discovered the folklore of Joe Magarac, a legendary steel worker from Croatia  tried to find online if that statue of a steelworker is supposed to be legendary Joe Magarac. Check out the article Folklore or Fakelore?

And I found a cool driving tour of the mills video from 1988

or see the Steel making process in this video

How Do You Feel About Eels?

My mother never cooked one.  (she was from Durand, Illinois.)

I can’t remember ever tasting one. An unsophisticated palate or a cultural deficiency?

But I’ve been pondering eels for three days now-and all the people in my life have been talking about food and diets a lot. No one mentioned eels.

I was driving along in the car, listening to the radio and the voice of author, James Prosek, was talking eels and the fascinating book he’s written about them. I mean, this guy knows EVERYTHING about eels.

And I got to thinking how I feel about eels. The eating of them. When you’re driving a couple of hours, you think about all kinds of things. You’ve got time. And as I said it’s three days later and I am still pondering eels?

Now eels, their habits and lives aren’t something I’ve thought much about until I heard him interviewed.  I found a link for Vintage Recipes for eel and the title Collared Eel isn’t  something I’ve heard come up on anyone’s food blog recently.  Maybe eel is part of  your Christmas Eve dinner? Lots of Pittsburghers are talking about eating more fish cause it’s Lent. I’m thinking they’re referring to Fish Sandwiches, not eels.

Here is a photo I shot at the Zagreb Fish Market when I was visiting a few years ago. Some eels.

How do you feel about eels?

Here’s the book title

Eels: An Exploration, from New Zealand to the Sargasso, of the World’s Most Mysterious Fish
By James Prosek check out his website for more information on his art and writing.

 

See an EEL restaurant at a fellow blogger’s post here

Zagreb Fish Market