Thursday Challenge—"ground"

This shot was taken by my daughter Kate, when she
headed (way) north and sailed around the Svalbard Archipelago. 
Now her father and I are making the same trip—we're
off to Norway tonight.  I'm not sure what kind of Internet 
connection I'll have up there above 80°n latitude, 
so (for the first time in eight years), I'm putting the blog 
on hold until I'm back home in a couple of weeks.
At that point, expect pictures of polar bears!
Meanwhile, as the song says, "see you in September."

[And to see more of the Thursday Photo
Challenge, visit Dale's meme.]

ABC Wednesday—F is for "footprints"

And I love leaving mine on a sunny beach.  
(These were made last year at sunrise on the 
beautiful beach of Oak Island, North Carolina.)

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

something for everyone . . .

at a food emporium I visited recently on
Long Island.  I ate a banana on the way there,
so I could resist all the treats for humans
(starting with the baking-right-now donuts just
inside the front door and continuing
with lobster rolls and a fried-chicken bar a bit 
farther on)—and just get the salad fixings I came for.

[Linking back to Ruby Tuesday and Our World Tuesday.]

It's too hot . . .

to do much of anything except chill 
(or at least try to).  Yesterday I
went out like mad dogs and Englishmen
and hiked about 5 miles in the midday
sun—and then wished I hadn't.
The actual temp was in the 90s, but 
with the humidity more like 100+.

[Linking back to Blue Monday.]

inSPIREd Sunday

A favorite spot in one of my favorite
churches, San Miniato al Monte,
in Florence—which I've featured before. 

[To see more churches from
around the world, go here.]

The Weekend in Black and White

I'd like to join my brother and sister-in-law
here on their screened-in porch—just
sit back, drink something icy, and hope to
catch a breeze.  Unfortunately, I have
waaay too much to do.  
Hope your weekend is cool and relaxing.

[To see more b/w pics, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

Weekend Reflections

Reflected in 140 Broadway: food trucks, office
workers, and Mark Di Suvero's sculpture
"Joie de Vivre," which sits at the entrance to
Zuccotti Park. (Remember when the Occupy
Wall Street folks camped out there?)

[To see more Weekend Reflections,
visit James's meme.]

Thursday Challenge—"sunny (#2)"

Taken several years ago (i.e., too many
since I've been here) on a beautiful
sunny summer day in Florence. Sigh.

[To see more of the Thursday Photo
Challenge, visit Dale's meme.]

ABC Wednesday—E is for "Eeyore"

Actually, his name is JJ, and he
lives in the country down in
Virginia.  He's a fairly friendly guy,
 if—like Eeyore—not particularly cheerful.

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

The great sauce vs. gravy debate

I never knew whether this was an Italian
regional thing (as in where in Italy
your family came from) or an American
regional thing (as in where in this
country they settled), or a generational thing, 
or because "gravy" sounded more American
to people who wanted to assimilate.
I'm not Italian so I can't really weigh in, but
my in-laws were Sicilian—and not one woman in
that family would have been caught dead
serving it from a jar no matter what you call it!


[Linking back to Ruby Tuesday 
and Our World Tuesday.]

nice shoes

Not really so much a mural as a billboard, I guess.
Someone decided that a photo of one
well-dressed woman wearing those shoes
wouldn't be nearly as effective as three naked ones,
all wearing those shoes.  Honestly, I can't
say they were wrong.

[Linking back to Monday Mural
at Oakland Daily Photo.]

By the pond

And, yes, the green background is a pond
(the one in the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden
at the Brooklyn Botanic) and, yes,
it really is that color.

[To see more flowers from around the world,
visit Today's Flowers at An English Girl Rambles.]

The Weekend in Black and White

"We only get 86, 400 seconds in a day to
turn it all around or throw it all away."

(I saw that superimposed over a picture of
a sparkler.  This is the closest thing
I have to a picture of a sparkler.)

[To see more b/w pics, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

Weekend Reflections

My friend used to have a lovely view over
the rooftops of Soho (see below)
and a good chunk of sky, a fairly rare
thing in Manhattan.
About two-thirds of that view has been
replaced by a mostly glass building, so now
he has a view of his own red-brick digs
—and whoever lives behind that glass.
(I've talked about this before—rampant real
estate has become a pet peeve.)

[To see more Weekend Reflections,
visit James's meme.]

Thursday Challenge—"sunny"

Guess this is also a TBT photo—it was
taken on a gorgeous sunny day
 in Paris last July.  Didn't go for a ride on
the grande roue, though.  Maybe next time . . .

[To see more of the Thursday Photo
Challenge, visit Dale's meme.]

ABC Wednesday—D is for "drone"

This one was launched in Battery Park, by a
kid who looked to be about 10!
What's going to happen when everyone
has one of these, I wonder?

[To see more ABC shots, go here.]

It's true love (or something)

Or maybe another major case of
"monkey see, monkey do."  I've been seeing ribbons
along with the love locks on the Brooklyn Bridge
for a while now.  One day, someone didn't
have a ribbon and decided to use his headphones
instead.  And now . . .
Read this short article from the Wall Street Journal
to see why most of them are red.

[Linking back to Ruby Tuesday and Our World Tuesday.]

Monday Mellow Yellows

They've been renovating the Brooklyn Bridge
for years now, working on the structural
elements—and also on the smallest details.

[To see more Monday Mellow Yellows, go here.]