The sparkly Christmas Tree caught my eye . St Patricks’s preparation?
Yikes- You’ve Got to Pull Over, Get Out of Your Car and Shoot It!
Tag: south side
Weekly Photo Challenge: Indulge
Dictionary Reference Indulge-to yield to an inclination or desire; allow oneself to follow one’s will
Isn’t that where we get into trouble?
I thought of fancy chocolates or an ice cream sundae mentioned in so many definitions for indulge. What photo to post? But after school, Friday Mr. K called a Mental Health and Wellness Meeting at the Double-Wide Grill on the South Side. Of course, this post could be for the Weekly Photo Challenge: Regret. What you feel after you eat too many of them. Fortunately, they were shared.
Fellow bloggers varied responses to the weekly photo challenge: indulge are linked here.
Cantilevered House,View 2, Friday on the Way to School
You saw my photo through the foggy school bus windshield. Friday morning there was a train going by as I shot this but the cars were flat. Couldn’t wait for that to change. It was a nice touch, to hear it speeding by on the track above.
I shot this outside the window, not through it and since I was the driver this time, I pulled to the side of the road. Not a lot of time to experiment or revise on the way to school and no time to get out of the car. Oh yes, iPhone camera not regular camera.
You read about this home in the New York Times last week. If you wish to compare the shot from my previous post it is here.
It’s a cool view to see every morning. I watched them build it but didn’t document it. Too bad. One for the regret category. Since most blog readers are out of town and can’t swing by to see this more clearly and are relying on my view, I wanted to show this unusual home in a nice light. And the school bus was parked.
Shot Through the Bus Windshield
You saw Thursday’s post of the passenger photo from the school bus ride to the Carnegie Museum of Art when it was snowing. Here’s another one. We were coming back from the Teenie Harris exhibit headed back to school. This photo has a cool story and link.
My friend R came over in the snow for a bowl of minestrone soup, Friday night. She told me about this cool house on the South Side, featured in the New York TImes. “A cantilevered house over a glass factory”, she said. I said, “I drive by that house EVERYDAY on the way to school. I watched it being built!” I’ve photographed the trains going by, the weather. I have pulled over there many times and photographed the scene.
On Wednesday I photographed a piece of this unique house through the school bus windshield. You can see a glimpse of their Emerald Art Glass Factory, the school bus yard on the left and the train trestle where I’ve photographed trains in a blur. Up on the slopes is formerly St. Josaphat’s church that’s now closed. If you want to see the house as it should be seen then you will have to go and watch the NYTimes slideshow.
Here is the link and the NYTimes amazing photos in a slideshow of this really cool house in detail. You just see a snippet of the house in my photo in the upper left. After you see the pristine and fantastic photographs at the New York Times you might wonder why I posted my iPhone photo of the same scene?
Night Neon & the Double-Wide Grill
Friday night music was great at the Club Cafe on the South Side. I loved the contrast of the neon’s warm colors of Jack’s and cool blue neon of Club Cafe. I know the “e” is missing but I liked the image of Jack’s going around the corner so I chose this one. I took this shot from across the street as we left to go home.
But wait, we didn’t go right home-
Even though we were exhausted, R invited us to go to the Double-Wide Grill where the onion rings satisfy that deep urge to eat something not really good for you but doesn’t it taste great. (seem to be doing a lot of that type of eating lately) You know I have a thing for old service stations and auto mechanics, right? The old fashioned kind. I did not photograph the food. Hmmmm. But you get a feel for the place.
And when we left I took a shot from the outside and the old gas tank had the amount 37 cents on it. Remember that price per gallon?
Big Dog Coffee Shop Reflected in Their Nuova Simonelli Machine
It is a stunning and shining beauty of an Espresso machine, the Nuova Simonelli. And as I stood waiting for my coffee, I noticed the reflection of the chairs and wall. I read that they are getting ready to put up some new art so I caught it on a plain green wall day.
I love that Big Dog Coffee Shop opens at 6 AM. They make authentic conversation with you and never seemed annoyed or put out like a coffee shop I used to go to every morning(and the other place doesn’t open ’til 7AM) . I feel welcomed, appreciated. It’s friendly but not fake. And their coffee is delicious, too. They are on the flats of the South Side and I teach on the slopes. Just right.
Once our book club met in the back room. It’s a welcoming space. Pretty soon they will start using the fireplace, too. I like the oatmeal bar for a splurge some days. Big Dog Coffee is more than just the jolt of morning caffeine. It is a joyful start to the day!
Andrew Tosses the Pizza Dough in the Air
He can’t remember how long it took him to learn to do this. I was impressed with the height and ease in which he tossed the dough. We had parent conferences until seven PM so got to go out to lunch. I headed down to the South Side to the bank and stopped in the Blue Grotto Pizza shop on the corner of 19th and Carson. Thom B came by. Told me, “…they really care about their food which is a good thing.” I waited for a slice of Pizza Margherita and you can see by Andrew’s hand that the slice was ENORMOUS!. It was also delicious. It was when I was leaving that I saw his tossing the dough and photographed his expertise. I asked if it was okay to blog and he said, “Sure.” Would have been good to have a tripod and cable remote but the soft capture still conveys the story of his skill. A rhythmic series of the pizza dough tossing is an idea for a future post. Could be in the People at Work series, too.
Cuckoo’s Nest Magic Shop
Last night of class at Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild and my weekly trip to the South Side. Just before the sky grew dark and the giant hail storm arrived. I scoped out The Cuckoo’s Nest Magic Shop in a new location since June.
Juggling supplies,balls, clubs and rings, nests of boxes, a vase filled with wands, colorful balloons you can sculpt into animals- a carousel of Folkmanis and Melissa and Doug puppets, decks of cards and and everything a magician (or clown or bartender) needs to entertain an audience. Matt was nice enough to demonstrate the Magical Block trick for me after I asked what was a good trick for a beginner to learn. You can purchase it for 4 bucks! His masterful sleight of hand changed a penny into a dime, right before my eyes!
Abracadabra
When Mark was in Kindergarten
he was a magician for the talent show
and poured a pitcher of plain water into two vessels
The water changed into blue and red.
It looked magical. I made his a black cape
and he had a a tall hat and a wand.
It’s Halloween Theme Year-Round in this Place– Jekyl (one L) and Hyde on 18th St.
I’ve been driving by this knight for awhile now. And Wednesday I got my chance to ask about him…
Off the beaten path as they say. Squeezing in another quick peek at an establishment on the South Side. Dave was out posting a sign for St Patrick’s Day festivities and I had always wondered about the rusty knight out front. Bought on the internet it turns out, filled with concrete. There is an Uncle Fester inside under a black light and his boa is wild. VERY dark inside so hard to get a non-grainy, clear pic on the fly. Dave tends the bar and dresses up and there is a “thing” type hand on the cash register, sitting there without being attached to a body. Halloween theme every day of the year. I hear you can get a little skeleton in your drinks. When I was there the place was empty except for the murals and masks and spiders and creatures that decorate the place.
And Dave waiting for the beer
delivery.
He was so nice to let me come in and see the Halloween decor. 140 S 18th St.
Jekyl and Hyde info click here
From Ghoulies and Ghosties
and long-leggedy beasties
and things that go bump in the night
Good Lord deliver us. ”
I did a crewel stitch of this little prayer
for Mark’s baby room in 1976
(or maybe it was Matthew’s in ’80)
It’s all I can think of to accompany
today’s post.I’ll find the crewel embroidery and
put it on the keep or pitch blog.
Pittsburgh Guitars on Carson Street, South Side, Interior and Exterior Shots
Two more weeks of class, so two more posts of South Side after my Wednesday late afternoon adventures. It was raining. Had a single slice at Sola Pizza again. Then found my way into Pittsburgh Guitars. Floor to ceiling. Acoustic, Classical, Electric, (even a bright pink one!) and the cutest GuitarLele you ever saw on the wall. The guitar bodies gleam. And of course every accessory for your instrument–metal, nylon strings, capo, picks, gig bags and cases, amps and cords and straps and music and whatever else you might need or want . Did I mention knowledgeable staff? Sam helped me. ALL musicians. You can meet the entire Pittsburgh Guitars staff on their website. Not a big box store. Personalized attention. No pressure, No rush. They know they have a good thing and isn’t it great to handle and play before you buy? Superior to internet ordering. They have a very creative website which is extensive and fun. You can go in and play the different instruments and check out the sound (please ask for assistance! on yellow tags like baby road signs) If you don’t play guitar yet, it is not too late to start!
