The Weekend in Black and White

Today La Serenissima is 1, 596 years old.
Buon Compleanno, Venezia!

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

ABC Wednesday—J is for "Jean"

This portrait of my mother was taken
when she was 30 (by my father;
she was his lifelong muse).  She made it to 
96, and last Saturday would have been
her 97th birthday.  About 50 of her
friends and relatives gathered to remember
her and celebrate her long, happy life.

The Weekend in Black and White

I did not take this picture, but the person
who did absolutely captured my
daughter Lila—whose birthday is tomorrow.
Happy Birthday, Lila!
[To see more b/w pics, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

Weekend Reflections

Buon compleanno, Venezia!
Today is La Serenissima's
1,595th birthday.  Wish I could be
there to help her celebrate.

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

ABC Wednesday—J is for "juvenile"

Well, I was jeune then—but not so much now.
In fact, I'm thinking it's a bit of a joke the
age I've arrived at today.  Oh well, I may not be
young, but I don't feel that old either,
and I'm doing my best to keep my joie de vivre.
(BTW, who else remembers the good old
days, when you played all summer in the sun sans 
SPF, protected from crisping by nothing 
but the ozone layer?)

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

Thursday Challenge—"happy"

My girl Kate looks pretty happy, doesn't she?  
She's probably looking forward
to celebrating her birthday tomorrow.
Happy b'day, Katie!

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

ABC Wednesday—K is for "kiss"

A buss to begin their romantic gondola ride
on the rio San Barnaba, in Venice.
BTW, today La Serenissima celebrates her
1,594th birthday.  Buon compleanno, Venezia!

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

shell game

Went out to the North Fork of Long Island with
the family to have a "birthday weekend"
(mom and moi, within five days of each other). 
Yesterday included a long walk to a deserted beach,
where I gathered these pretty translucent shells.

[Linking back to Monday Mellow Yellows,
Mandarin Orange Monday, and Macro Monday.]

Buon Compleanno, Venezia

Happy 1,593rd (!) Birthday to Venice.
Took this shot of San Giorgio Maggiore
(island and church) from the campanile in
Piazza San Marco.  I'm hoping that one
of  these days, I can take the boat over there
 and climb up in that campanile to
capture the opposite view.

[To see more Ruby Tuesday posts, go here.
For more of Our World, go here.]

Orange You Glad It's Friday

I understand most of the random stuff
I find when I'm crossing the Brooklyn Bridge,
but I had no idea why these balloons were
there at 8 a.m. on a recent Wednesday.  But it was
my daughter Lila's birthday, so I just told
myself that they were there for her!  Why not?

[To see more OYGIF posts, visit Maria's meme.]

Skywatch Friday

A bright blue Venetian sky behind the over-the-top
façade of Basilica San Marco.  I chose this image
because today La Serenissima is 1, 590 years old—
Buon Compleanno, cara Venezia!