Tag: photos

Snow Pix

Yesterday, during our bootiful floofy snow, I took some photos.  I sent a few along to mom & dad out in California and they enjoyed showing them to their friends.  Heh.  But one of my favorite shots is of the snow collected on some of the neighbor’s trees.  Plus a shot which makes the snow look like the fake snow you can buy at Christmas time.


Fluffy trees (especially in the back)!  Happy little trees!  Plenty of Magic White used here!  (A joke for you Bob Ross fans.)


See, it was fake snow all along!

Tonight was Parent/Teacher conferences and, as usual, I had no conferences. After getting a lot of paperwork done (mostly professional development committee stuff) I spent much of the night talking with coworkers. One of the secretaries was also nice enough to drive me home since it had begun snowing (again). Who knows, if the wintry mix shows up like they’re predicting, we may have another day off tomorrow. Considering they’ve been wrong so much this season, I’m not betting on it. 🙂

Lucy believes in good oral hygiene, and so should you!

The fun one can have with a freebie toothbrush and a kitty cat.

If you notice Lucy’s green and orange claws, those are courtesy of Soft Paws. She’s going from Halloween (the orange and black ones) to Christmas (green/red combo ones) slowly but surely. Linus has ’em too. He’s halfway converted to Christmas.

In less happy kitty news, we found out today that Lucy has Feline Cystitis. She was peeing blood over the holiday and I got her in to see the vet today. Turns out she has crystals in her urine. The vet has prescribed an antibiotic for her and she’ll return in 2 weeks. I’ve also decided to give the kitties a gooshy food meal once a day to help keep them hydrated better. (I mix it with water – they both seem to like it.) The nice thing is that some of Lucy’s worst symptoms had abated by today, so maybe she’s on her way to getting over it on her own. Hopefully the meds and diet change will help get her back to normal.

My Walk to Work

is posting photos again this weekend, so I decided I’d crosspost the photos I submitted to that community. I decided to focus on the pretty autumnal colors I see when I walk to work every day.


Walking to Work
Walking to Work

Across the street from my neighbors are some nice trees in transition. You can also see the Brethren in Christ Church in this shot.
Baker's Auto Repair
Baker’s Auto Repair

This is the garage where I take my car when she needs her 3-monthly checkup. The brick building next to it is home of CD Solutions. Not entirely sure what they do.

Bootiful Trees
Bootiful Trees

Across from Baker’s is the UCC church. These trees and the brick house behind them are beside the church. Lovely view for my daily walk to work.
United Church of Christ
United Church of Christ

This church is on the National Registry of buildings. Built in the 1870s and still well maintained. One of many churches which I have attended. (The Brethren in Christ and the Church of the Brethren churches in town are also ones I’ve attended.)
Continuing My Walk
Continuing My Walk

After a pause at the corner where the UCC sits, I continue walking down the street, to turn at the corner ahead.
Crossing Main Street
Crossing Main Street

Looking North as I cross Main Street in town. Behind the very orange trees is Yet Another Church (number 4 in the series). (Although I took photos of the 5th church in town, I opted not to post it this time.)
Almost Done!
Almost Done!

This tree is almost done dumping it’s leaves for the season. I loved the contrast between the bright yellow & orange and the blue of the sky.
School in View
School in View

Just the last little bit until I reach the school. (You can see it’s red brick facade in the far right of the photo.) The playground is in front of the school where all of the trees are. The last photo will be of it.
Playground in Autumn
Playground in Autumn

Doesn’t this look like an inviting playground? The green playground equipment was just installed this summer and the kids love it. I’m surprised I managed to catch it when it wasn’t in use.


Small Town, OH

elsaf introduced me to the group wild_photos last year, but I never got around to publishing photos of my hometown in the Where I Live Day (WILD) community. But this year I was prepared. Two weeks ago, armed only with my trusty digital camera and a beautiful day, I took loads of photos of my town. So, come with me and take a walk around town.


Home
Home

Here’s my house & garage. Linus, my cat, can just barely be seen in the picture window looking out at me. I had hoped my lawn boy would have gotten to the shrubs by now, but he’s been too busy at his real job.
Gas Station
Gas Station

Here’s the local gas station, which is also the closest thing we have to a grocery now. The day I took the photo (2 weeks ago), gas was $2.75 a gallon. Today it’s 10 cents less.
The View into Town
The View into Town

Anyone driving up from the south will have this view of town. If you look carefully, you can see the monument. It’s the triangular gray thing in the center of the road.
Still in Town
Still in Town

Yes, this is another view from in the town. Although the barn itself is technically not in town, where I’m standing to take the photo is.
Church of the Brethren
Church of the Brethren

There are 5 churches in our very small town (3 on Church Street, oddly enough). I must not have gotten around to taking the photo of the one that’s on the National Registry of Buildings.
School!
School!

Here’s my alma mater and current employer. The windows in the bottom right are from my science lab.
Klopfer Building
Klopfer Building

This building used to house Klopfer’s Grocery, long since out of business. (Well, they were open when I was a kid.) Around the back right of the building is where the new pizza place is. It’s good food too – had lunch there today.
Sunflowers
Sunflowers

I’m still in town as I’m heading for the river. Beyond this corn field is the cemetery.
Bridge
Bridge

This bridge is outside of town and crosses the Stillwater River. When my sister and I were little (and the bridge was an old steel bridge) we’d ride our bikes here and play Pooh Sticks.
Stillwater River
Stillwater River

The Stillwater River – looking a bit low these days thanks to the drought-like conditions.
Cemetery
Cemetery

Back in town again to visit the cemetery.
Corn
Corn

Up close & personal with some corn. This is what you see if you’re looking away from the gravestones in the cemetery.
Grain Elevator
Grain Elevator

What town is complete without a grain elevator?
Graffiti
Graffiti

We even have our own graffiti in town (on the previously mentioned grain elevator). The “90” is from the class after mine in high school. Not sure if the graffiti is as well or not.
Sign
Sign

Now you know the name of the town… But I took this photo for the sign. How many places do you know of who advertise the medications they sell in their vending machines? I know of one!
The Beery School
The Beery School

This building used to house the Beery School of Horsemanship (The Only School Of Its Kind In The World). It was a correspondence school of horsemanship. Was very famous in the right circles. (I guess the circles that horses went around in.)
Monument
Monument

Ah, the town monument. It’s a Civil War soldier looking south to alert us if the South ever rises up again. Or something. Still, folks in the area might not know my town, but if you say “It’s the one with the monument in the center” folks go “Oh! I drove through there once!”


Happy Birthday, Linus & Lucy!

Although no one is really sure what day Linus & Lucy were born, the vet and I made the decision that June 15th would be their official birthdate. So that means today, my babies are one year old! Wow! The time sure flew!

To celebrate, I bought them cat food today. Heh. I’ll be mixing it with their kitten food until they get used to the new food. They’re currently playing with trash in the living room. I give ’em toys, they prefer to empty out the trash can. Go figure. (Not the kitchen trash, thankfully, just some plastic from my recently purchased Doctor Who toys.)

And, for your amusement, three recent photos of the kitties behind the cut.


Linus checks out the flowerbox
Linus checks out the flowerbox

Linus is in the den looking out at that flowerbox.
Does this bed make me look fat?
Does this bed make me look fat?

Seriously, Lucy isn’t that tubby!
Lucy checks out the flowerbox
Lucy checks out the flowerbox

Lucy looks out over the flowerbox from the dining room.


Picture Time

It has been awhile since I’ve displayed photos of my kittens, so I think I should remedy that.


Lucy sitting pretty.


It’s a little out of season, but here is Lucy with her good friend, pumpkin.


I discovered the kittens have a different meaning for “boxing.” That’s Linus in the box.


Lucy & Linus wait for mommy to come home. (Well, not in this photo, but they have been known to keep watch when I’m away.)


It’s nice of the kittens to help with the household chores, but I don’t think they quite understand the dishwasher yet.


Linus makes sure the Christmas tree tastes right.


The tree is decorated – but they’ve already taken care of the bottom row for me. And if you look close, you can see one of the little ones underneath the tree.

Little Miss Sunshine

Today was our first time outside since we arrived on Wednesday. Heh. (OK, so Amy & dad went out yesterday…) We got ready early in order to join Lynn & Doug at Keys Restaurant by 9:30. We walked into the joint at 9:29am. We rock. 🙂

I overindulged at breakfast having 2 eggs (over easy), hashbrowns, and toast AND 2 slices of French toast. More than one person can eat, which is why I let other people share my food. There was quite a bit of sharing going on – we’re the sharing family. And it was nice to have one more meal with Lynn & Doug before they returned home.

Once we’d said our farewells to Rachel’s folks (back at the apartment), we sat around & discussed our day’s plans. It was agreed that we’d go see Little Miss Sunshine at the Riverview theater at 7:10pm. And before that, go to the wine bar across the street from the theater. So what to do until then? Why, go shopping of course!

We started out at the Half Price Bookstore. I found Spy Muppet’s License to Croak on CD-ROM for $6, so I bought it. Rachel & mom also bought some stuff while we were there. Then we headed off to Pier One so the girls could use a gift certificate on cushions for one of their chairs. They found just what they were looking for, so they bought ’em. Then a trip to the new Trader Joe’s near them. I bought some Truffles for us and for Aunt Becky & the others who have been checking in on my kitties. Plus some cashews – unsalted & low salt. We also got some sushi, salsa, guacamole & tortilla chips for a light meal. Back home, we partook of these goodies. Yum!

We learned some interesting things while having our snack. First, sushi & nachoes are a good snack. 🙂 Second, putting wasabi & soy sauce on turkey still tastes of turkey. However, guacamole on turkey is an improvement upon the turkey. And third, cleaning up from sushi & nachoes is very fast (I did the dishes – heh!)

When it was 5pm, we moved on to the Riverview Wine Bar. They have several “flites” (samplers) that they offer for $9. Dad got the K’Syrah Shiraz flite, mom got a Riesling flite, and Rachel tried out the Chardonnay flite. Each flite has 4 wines with 2 oz samples of each. Amy tried a Victory HopDevil beer. I had water. We also got the cheese sampler – a goat cheese, a bleu cheese of some sort, an Italian cheese that resembled Swiss in appearance but not taste, and a zola (IIRC). I liked ’em all but the bleu cheese. Oh, and I made the mistake of seeing the specials board – they had creme brulee. Eep! So of course I had to get that. It was very yummy!

The Riverview theater is a second run theater with $3 evening movies (and $2 matinees). They also have reasonably priced popcorn (mom ordered us 2 GIANT Cokes and a large popcorn and it was $9). The movie playing was Little Miss Sunshine, which was riotously funny. Amy considered it good exercise, all that laughing. I agree. I’m loathe to say much about the plot because I went in knowing next to nothing and enjoyed it all the more because of that. If you want to laugh a lot and you don’t mind foul language from time to time, I heartily recommend this movie.

Tomorrow, we’ll probably have more grand adventures. But I shall leave you all with the lovely photo of mom in her make-up from yesterday’s session. Oh yeah, and I’m in it too. Mom is the lovely woman on the left. I’m the silly woman on the right. Heh. Enjoy!


Mom & Me. Yup, that’s make up on my face! Hee!

(PS, I can’t imagine getting any sleep tonight – I had some of the caffeine-laden Coca Cola with the movie. Whoops!)

Thanksgiving 2006

This holiday weekend has been only the second time that both families have been together (the other being Amy & Rachel’s wedding). Last night, Rachel made vegetarian lasagna which we had when Lynn & Doug arrived (having driven into town). The dinner was excellent and accompanied by salad, roasted squash, and rustic Italian bread (from their Co-Op). Good eats!

But the REAL banquet was saved for today. Amy got up early and started on the chestnut stuffing (chopping & browning the bread) and then the turkey (which had been soaking in brine in the fridge for nearly 12 hours). As the morning progressed, I made the sweet potato souffle (having made the cheeseball last night), Rachel worked on the rolls, Lynn made the green bean casserole (using green & wax beans from her garden), Doug made the mashed ‘tatoes (having made cranberries the day before), and Rachel made the apple pie. Mom and dad carved the turkey (which turned out beautifully). And then we feasted at 2pm.


The feast, lovingly prepared by all.

Once we got the kitchen cleaned up again, we all crashed, some napping, others watching Love, Actually on cable. I napped a little, and now I’m typing this up.

We still have pies. Amy & Rachel’s friends Becky & Michelle will be arriving around 7:30pm for games, leftovers, and DESSERT. Mom baked her pumpkin pies yesterday and as I mentioned just now, Rachel baked an apple pie.


Mom’s pumpkin pies.


Rachel’s apple pie (with snowflake cut-outs).

Oh, and just cuz I can, gratuitous cat photo:


Früvous helped out by staying out of the way.

We said thanks before we had our feast. Today in particular, I am thankful that we were able to gather for this. Thank you, Amy & Rachel for making all of this possible. 🙂

Italy: Day 9 (Venice!)

Jul. 28, 2005

Thursday morning was another up early day. I don’t think I went swimming in the morning, but we got off to Venice as early as we could (7am?) There were only 8 of us going. Weavers, Amy & Kathie, O’Neals, judiang & me. That seaside drive killed the desire to drive around & go on long day trips. I think it’s good that the other couples didn’t go – you need more than 5 hours in Venice for the Romance.

The drive, calculated to be 3.5 hours, wound up being 5 hours, nearly. Only one turn astray when we tried one garage, only to decide to park closer. We found a garage that was €19 for the day (Gah!) and where you left your keys in the car (Gah!) Very bizarre.

We bought €10.50 24 hour ferry/bus tickets since we didn’t know what the day was going to unfold into. Then we took the #3 ferry to the Island of San Marco to see the cathedral & Doge’s palace.

The ferry took 45 minutes & was very warm. (The weather was getting warmer each day, as were the nights). We got to San Marco & looked around. Lots of cool Mardi Gras masks for sale, but I didn’t buy any.

When we got to the cathedral, I was amazed by the mix of marble! Very pretty & colorful exterior. So unique! Took photos, of course. Going inside wasn’t to be – the line was major long.

So, we wandered a bit in the square, then got lunch at a cafe at the square. €4 ham, cheese, lettuce sammich on floury white roll. €2 for water, too. WE sat on the steps of the square & munched (after being chased away by the cafe ladies cuz we were originally blocking their path to the outside customers). Not a great sammich, but today was not a food day.

Gelato from another place at the square (€2 for vanilla & hazelnut – the vanilla slightly lemony). And then some folks wanted to go to the Doge’s palace. When I thought the fee was €5.50, I thought I might, but no, it was €11. Not interest. Judi had already bought a ticket, however, and ended up going with Tammy, Amy, Kathy & Dave. Mary, John & I decided to walk through the streets & I’m glad I did.

Venice is like no other city on the planet. And best of all, it didn’t stink! I wasn’t looking forward to being in a hot place that smelled, but it was quite fine.

We stuck to shady alleys and enjoyed the city sights. We saw a long train of gondolas ride by – watched for a bit, then walked on. 6 people was the max for any gondola. And they go slow – without trying, we outpaced them.

We consulted John’s compass and found a way that seemed to get back to the Grand Canal and in the process, walked by an Internet Cafe. We still had 30 minutes before meeting the others, so I got to go in, read an e-mail from mom, reply, and do a very quick update to my LJ.

John popped in to see if I was done and I was. So I paid €3.90 for the time and moved off with the others.

John & I checked out some of the gondoliers, testing out the prices. First guy said €80 per ride and only 6 could fit. Next one had a tour for €315. The next, €120. This last group was the persistent one. As we walked back to the Doge’s palace, one of the gondoliers came by with a deal – we said we couldn’t go cuz the other 5 were not with us. He took that as a barter, but we finally fobbed him off.

Soon, a second gondolier came with a very special offer if just the 3 of us went right now. We tried to explain there were still 5 not with us. Including a husband & a wife. Finally, a third gondolier came to us saying we three could ride for only €25 a piece. He even said he was the owner & couldn’t go lower due to company policy, but we had to go right then. Once again, we tried to explain ourselves, then made our escape.

So John & I were ready to gondola ride. Meanwhile Tammy & the girls wanted to shop. Guess what happened? Shopping. It wasn’t easy to get out of Calle de Rossi with everyone because of all the little shops, but we finally did and got back to the Grand Canal. We saw a gondola company we’d not seen before & they were €80 a boat. So €20 a person.

The ride was the highlight of the trip. Our gondolier was funny & bragging about having 3 bottles of white wine already. He explained that gondolas (gondole in all the signs) were asymmetrical – left side is longer than the right. So it always lists to one side, until the gondolier gets to his position. I asked about right handed gondolas, but he said there were none.

Judi & I were in one with the O’Neals, the others were in the lead gondola. Our guy showed us Casanova’s house & Marco Polo’s island. They took a slightly longer route, he said, because they weren’t tired. There weren’t a whole lot of folks doing gondolas that day for some reason. Probably the heat.

When the ride was over, we headed back to the ferry. Of course, shopping happened. And getting everyone to the ferry was a real chore – we kept losing people. Finally, John, Judi, Dave, and I got onto a ferry & called out that we were leaving. Mary & the girls soon joined and we had the hottest 45 minutes of the trip. Gah!

We returned to the garage and thankfully our car was still there. We then headed for the autostrade & got separated when John took a wrong turning & we didn’t follow. Still, we got back together & headed home

A stop @ an Autogrill was our supper. I got pesto on that wriggly short pasta & could easily have gotten pesto that bad in the States. Still, the fruit tart was good. A glass of Sprite finished off the meal. It was €11.50 or somesuch.

It ended up taking us 4.5 hours to get back & poor Dave was a bundle of nerves after the trip. Italian drivers are mad. We saw so many swevers & had some close calls too. But we got home safely & I could go swimming finally.

I, of course, took LOADS of photos. I shall include some here.

Grand Canal
The Grand Canal. Difficult to steer gondolas on the Grand Canal, but this guy is doing a decent job of it.

San Marco's
The Cathedral at San Marco. This photo doesn’t do it justice. Each column is made using different types of marble. The colors in person were phenomenal.

Doge's Square
The Doge’s Palace & square. Pigeon heaven.

Bridge of Sighs
The infamous Bridge of Sighs. It connects the Doge’s Palace (left) with the prison (right).

Venice!
John Astin visits Venice… OK, so not really. I just now realized that guy sort of looks like Gomez from the Addams Family TV show. Note the canal behind him?

Gondola!
Judi and I enjoy a gondola ride! Yes, the gondolier is on his cell phone.

Geez, it’s been a month since we were in Italy! *sniff* Still, it’s fun to be back at work, even though I’m snowed under with tech requests. But I’m making progress & I’m having fun with my students. (Physics is still in flux – lost another girl today. Alas!)