Thursday Challenge—"colorful"

Among the many colorful pieces I saw
in the Dale Chihuly Collection at the Morean
Arts Center, in St. Pete, Fla., earlier
this year was this ceiling installation—a much
smaller version of the one at the
Bellagio in Las Vegas. 

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

ABC Wednesday—P is for "painted"

. . . also "piano" and "Pollock"

Saw this in front of a restaurant with
outdoor seating.  Entertainment for the dinner
crowd, I assume.  Don't know what kind of
music is played, but on this instrument
it should be jazz, I think.

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

Sakura Matsuri *

* that's the Cherry Blossom Festival held every

year at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

The trees weren't yet in full bloom this past

weekend, but the weather was good

and lots of people came out to enjoy the

ambience and the entertainment.

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

Daffodil Hill

That's the aptly named part of the
Brooklyn Botanic Garden that's carpeted
for a while every April with hundreds
of these bright yellow blooms.

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

inSPIREd Sunday

This is the early-18th-century organ in the
church of St.-Nicolas du Chardonnet.
You can hear it here.

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

The Weekend in Black and White

I saw these men in the Nyugati Railway Station,
in Budapest.  It could be a dramatic story, 
I suppose—or maybe (and I hope this is the case)
they were just two tired workers waiting
to catch their train and go home after a long day.

[To see more monochromes, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

Weekend Reflections

I love the passages of Paris—wonderful
glass-roofed shopping arcades that date mostly
to the 19th century—and Galerie Vivienne 
is one of the most elegant of all.

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

Thursday Challenge—"young"

These jeunes Parisiens were out on a
promenade with their teachers.  Some of them
got the "stick-together" drill, but a few
petits garçons were just eager to get down
to the quai d'Orsay and run around.
Must be like herding des puces!

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

ABC Wednesday—O is for "oranges"

I'm not really that fond of oranges and never go 
out of my way to eat one, but for the 18 months I was 
pregnant with my two kids (well, closer to 19, 
thanks to Lila the Late), I had a strong craving and 
consumed hundreds (maybe thousands).
I can think of worse things.

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

Our World Tuesday

You'll find lots of wonderful art at the
Brooklyn Museum—even in the parking lot.

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

the blue hour

One of the reasons I choose to live in Brooklyn:
I have all the benefits of a huge 
metropolis a short subway ride away—but 
at the end of the day, this is my view.

[It's Blue Monday. To see more, go here.]

Shadow Shot Sunday

Just through this gate (coming from the
Japanese Hill and Pond Garden at
the Brooklyn Botanic) is their famous
Cherry Esplanade—two allées of cherry trees
that were planted after WWI, a gift from
the government of Japan.

[To see more Sunday shadows, go here.]

The Weekend in Black and White

At this time of year, I try to get to the nearby
botanic garden every weekend to see
what's burst into bloom.  Last weekend I found
lots to tell me not to miss my visit
this weekend—including the magnolia trees.

[To see more monochromes, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

Skywatch Friday

It was a very sunny but very cold day in February
when I passed by this 52-story Trump building 
at Columbus Circle.  Not crazy about the 
"mine is bigger than yours" building looming
over the SW entrance to Central Park—
but the globe is cool, don't you think?

[To see more Skywatch pics, go here.]

Thursday Challenge—"closeup"

To me these said, "Yes, spring really is here. We promise."

And here's that promise kept.

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

ABC Wednesday—N is for "Nutella"

Good American that I am (well . . . )
I still prefer peanut butter.  But I do know
some folks for whom this might not 
be a several-lifetimes supply.
(Speaking of Americans, I hope you got your
taxes done and are expecting a big, fat refund.)

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

those buildings

There's a lot of construction going on in New York
these days—and none of it comes anywhere
near the charm of these buildings in Paris, put up 
in the 19th century by the hundreds by Baron Haussmann.
I understand that cost and ease of construction
(and just how tall can we make it?) dictate what's getting 
torn down and what's going up in its place in NYC, 
but I'm glad these elegant buildings are still there in Paris.

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

witch hazel

A very useful tree with a cool moniker.
So how did it come to be called
witch hazel?  Basically, it comes from 
the Old English wice, meaning pliable. And
its branches have been used as divining rods (as were
the branches of the hazel tree in England). 
It's a winter-blooming tree, but I took this photo
recently—which maybe says something about
the long, cold winter we've had. 

[Linking back to Monday Mellow Yellows and Macro Monday.]

Today's Flowers

It's been a long, cold winter and all
the things that usually bloom about now
are taking their time.  Meanwhile,
there's always something pretty—like these
little orchids—in the conservatory.

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

The Weekend in Black and White

My brother and sister-in-law bought this house
from a woman whose design aesthetic
(if I should even call it that) ran to painfully
 bright paint colors and some very busy 1950s wallpaper.
They scraped and painted and made it their
own—but one thing they kept is a sign on the kitchen 
door that says, "Back door friends are best."   

[To see more monochromes, visit Dragonstar's meme.] 

Weekend Reflections

Looks like I had the Parc des Buttes Chaumont
all to myself, doesn't it?  But just to the left
was a photo shoot, with a model perched in this tree.
Behind me were runners on the path and loungers
in the grass (because you can do that in this 
park) and lots of kids playing after school.

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

Thursday Challenge—"two"

A table for two—in Paris. 

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

ABC Wednesday—M is for "macarons"

A lot of people claim that the ones from
Pierre Hermé are the best and some (like me)
head to Ladurée for their macaron fix.
These were for sale at Eric Kayser, but I wasn't
tempted (we were there strictly for 
their yummy baguettes).

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

Building Boom

. . . in Brooklyn—all over New York, really,
and I don't much like it.  What we need is truly
affordable housing and what we're getting is
a lot of über-expensive, too-tall digs for overseas
oil barons to use for two weeks out of the year.
Granted, this probably isn't that—it's going up
right next to the Barclays Center, new home of the
New York Brooklyn Nets basketball team.

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

blue door, red house

I'd like to meet the people who live here.
Whatever else they may be (patriotic, perhaps—
though they might be French and this is 
bleu, blanc et rouge rather than red, white 
and blue) . . . anyway, they're probably not boring.

[Today is Blue Monday. To see more,
visit Smiling Sally's meme.]

inSPIREd Sunday

This is the cathedral of Santa Maria dei Fiore,
aka the Duomo, in Florence (I took this picture on
Easter Sunday several years ago).  Easter is celebrated
throughout the city, but here at the Duomo
the service is followed by the colorful—and very noisy—
Explosion of the Cart, a tradition whose roots
date back to the Crusades. (Here's a video.)
Happy Easter to all of you who are celebrating today.

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

nuts and bolts

and white mold "blossoms" adorn this rusted
old piece of railroad equipment.  It's
not pretty, but my eye (and by extension
my camera) were drawn right to it.

[To see more monochromes, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

Weekend Reflections

This is the ground floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
I went on a school outing years ago 
with one of my kids when her class got a tour of
 the NBC studios, which are in this building.
Highlights were visiting the newsroom and meeting
Tom Brokaw, playing "weatherman" on 
the Today set, and getting a shout-out from
Bobby McFerrin as he was rehearsing
"Don't Worry Be Happy" for Saturday Night Live!

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

Thursday Challenge—"sunshine"

Most of my experiments with shooting directly
at the sun are more "miss" than "hit."
I do like this one though (but maybe it's just
because of the other thing in the photo). 

[To see more of the Thursday Photo Challenge, go here.]

ABC Wednesday—L is for "lizard"

I saw this little guy when I was visiting
friends in Florida—he was sunning himself outside 
the "cage" that covers their patio and pool
(I was doing the same inside).

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]