Tina's Pic Story - April flowers

Actually, these flowers were photographed last May...but still work for this week's subject on Tina's Pic Story which is April Flowers. I like azaleas as these are on the north shady side of our home and the flowers grow without any fertilizer work. Well, they do have to be pruned occasionally, but that's not so much work as perhaps done with love. Happy Spring!

Whimsical Windows - The city that never sleeps...

That of course is the terminology of New York City, more specifically Manhattan Island. For Whimsical Windows/Delirious Doors, Toby's great architectural meme. This is from 1939, my father at age 11, and I believe by the docks along the Hudson River - perhaps on the famous Staten Island Ferry. The skyline is from well before the huge glass and steel edifices we now see. I have been advised that the building with the spire was then the Bank of Manhattan Building on Wall Street now the Trump Building. This is a link to the distant past, and no doubt then an impressive place to be when visiting from small town Ohio. Actually, it still is impressive...

Shadow Shot Sunday - Smokehouse celebration

Shadow Shot Sunday 2 is back and we celebrated a birthday (mine - 58 should you ask :) yesterday. Instead of a restaurant, I requested (and received) a family meal from a classic low-and-slow BBQ restaurant, the fun, delicious and smoke-house traditional Smoke&Bones in nearby Derby. 

What you see is what we had: ribs, brisket, chicken, 3 large sides, biscuits, Carolina mustard/vinegar and Kansas City BBQ sauces. The food was great with an unexpected side dish of shadows. As good as the food was, the conversation and family time together the best gift...and yes, there are leftovers - supper promptly at 6PM!

Tina's Pic Story - Bottom up bridge

Tina's Pic Story is back - she suggests the theme which this week is Bottom-up...we supply pictures to match. Today, I choose the view up to the north tower of the Zakim/Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge in Boston. Carrying Route I-93 over the Charles River, the top of the wishbone shaped north tower is 322 Feet (98 M) above the water. Function and style exist nicely together as we look up in awe...

Ruby Tuesday - Cornwall crossing

Covered bridge in Cornwall, Connecticut. Photo by Patti, March 2013

Ruby Tuesday 2 returns and the mere proviso of a lot or a little red is all we need. Today, Patti supplies this picture from March of the covered bridge in West Cornwall Connecticut. Crossing the Housatonic River and opened in 1841, it is one of three in Litchfield County. It actually is in use today, it being CT Route 128 - and it has had a steel frame added in 1973 for strength. It is however only one lane - so having a working horn (and not afraid to use it :) on your vehicle helps too. The barn red paint adds a period charm - and meets the requirement for RT2! 

Whimsical Windows - Both Sides Now

Toby hosts the fun architectural meme Whimsical Windows/Delirious Doors where we look for interesting portals and other cool things. For me, today was yesterday. I was chauffeuring the always lovely Patti to meet with our blog friend in the tony Connecticut River town of Essex. We were to have lunch and even before I saw the menu, I chose for my aperitif the stained glass hanging in the tall main window at Oliver’s Taverne. On the non-descript exterior, the colors of the glass did not stand out – however, I thought that the bright gray clouds might make a brilliant backdrop inside.

And I was not disappointed. The colors jumped at me, and made for meme magic. All in all, the conversation was great, the food fine and the colorful window a tasty desert for the post. A meal that was made of more than food – conversation and color were the rewards!

SOOC - Takeoff

A delta-winged aircraft takes flight from the bonnet of a 1955 Chevy Bel-Air...

SOOC - Straight out of the Camera - presents us with art from the 1950s. In the case of vehicles produced in the dawn of the Jet Age, the feeling of speed was everywhere...even on the hood/bonnet of American cars. How about a hood ornament that looks like a jet plane leaping into space. Like an aircraft carrier, it has the feeling of zooming off into space. From a car - a silly premise in theory, yet quite dreamy as it lifts into space...style over substance? Absolutely, thank you!

Shadow Shot Sunday - Crosley Corral

Shadow Shot Sunday 2 arrives and old cars are in vogue - with winter over, those with old cars are now unafraid to take their antiques out since the street sweepers have now removed the ice-melting salt from the roads...last Sunday, there was a car show at Heavenly Donut in nearby Derby the one request was donated food items to fill up the Crosley with the Woody Woodpecker wagon (famous laugh here :) - see Patti's newspaper blog post.

I concentrated on the diminutive Crosley cars - rare when new and with a devoted fan base now for the mere two-cylinder and 26 horsepower (19 kW) and almost cartoonish cute cars. A Crosley car was manufactured by Cincinnati entrepreneur Powell Crosley who invented the first affordable home radio in 1920 and owned the Cincinnati Reds among other items. The car was his only failure as people liked big cars in the 1950s. See modern shadows at SSS2!

Tina's Pic Story - From above

Tina hosts the fun Pic Story where we try to meet in picture the weekly theme she provides, which this week is from above...I am not certain how far above one must be. so, in view (1), the view from above was captured from the flood control walkway above the Naugatuck River - perhaps about 20 ft (6M) above the surface of the water. If not high enough, perhaps the other shot from a 737 much higher up. Both from above I'd say...

Restored Retro Ruby Tuesday

For Ruby Tuesday 2 a little or a lot of red is okay, and given my attraction to old American cars, a bold ruby 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air is not to be ignored...full of 1950s styling art, restored in this stunning red outside, and on the engine (and even the battery is ruby). 

And it is for sale! However, with a new engine (350), and the high appraised value Chevy's from this era command, it is somewhat too rich to contemplate parking in our driveway. I'll stick with admiring its classic 1950s US car styling instead...

Whimsical Windows - Ansonia Opera House

100 Main Street, Ansonia CT

Toby hosts the fun architectural meme Whimsical Windows/Delirious Doors - we look for interesting examples. Today I showcase the Ansonia Opera House. Opened in 1870, it was an entertainment venue in the early days of this small (19,000) manufacturing city in. Not opera per se, but live performances at first and movies later. Now, the performing venue upstairs is not used although restaurants and shops on the ground level are. A real restoration would be so nice...the trick is to convince someone to part with a few million :( Nevertheless, it is an imposing structure. I caught it with a phone and edited in B&W to add a retro look...

Shadow Shot Sunday - Shade tree awaiting

Shadow Shot Sunday 2 arrives in the Spring up north...although today was a raw and rainy Friday in Connecticut, it is sometimes nice in early april. Like here at the beachfront in nearby West Haven. The few trees near the waters of Long Island Sound seem absolutely ready for foliage to begin in earnest, and that should be soon. The forsythia in our yard is starting to open its yellow buds, so likewise, the few shore trees will be alive soon. As cool as it is now, a shade tree in the Summer heat will be seen as a treat to us non sun-worshiping types...

Tina's Pic Story - Sun

A burst of sun settles over the Uplands of Ansonia Connecticut 

Tina's Pic Story is the fun weekly meme hosted by her - we post the pics to match the theme she provides, which this week is the sonne/sun. This is the sun rising over the neighborhood after an icy night before. The solar heat is melting the ice from the leafless shrubs and trees...promising a nice winter day. Ice may be a nuisance, but it can look really nice...

Ruby Tuesday - Decades of Brick

Ruby Tuesday 2 is back with its usual proviso of a lot or a little red. Such as brick. Brick seems to have changed shades of red over the years. This is Elizabeth Street in Derby Connecticut. The three buildings are styled differently in the old AT&T building from the (1920s, left), the newer AT&T (1970s, center) to the magnificent Sterling Opera House (1889). 

Note too the changes in style from the ornate in 1889 to the severely angular buildings of more recently. Although the older architecture always seems to be the the better looking...

Whimsical Windows - Reflective portals

Toby hosts the fun architectural meme Whimsical Windows/Delirious  Doors, full of portals and windows. Today I am at the Derby Historical Society museum and home of General David Humphreys, aide de camp to General Washington. This homestead is one mile or so from home in Ansonia. Here is the tea service setup in Lady Humphreys parlour with a cool multi-pane reflection that is as wavy as the old window glass. This was a luxurious home in the 17th century. How times have changed!

Shadow Shot Sunday - New Phone in and out

Shadow Shot Sunday 2 is back, and I got a new camera and am trying out the mega 2MP. Not a lot of MP, but with my limitations (wheelchair, etc), sometimes the easier way is preferred...to cut costs, I switched carriers from the too pricy AT&T to the half price Straight Talk. However, the iPhone5 I would prefer, is over $500 with their service. So I went to an $80 Android which works fine for the talk and text. 

As a camera? It seems okay. The photo on the left was on a bright morning - I like the tinted window reflection next door. The next was taken in a car park/parking lot with the ramp deployed, and plenty of shadow. I conclude that the phone/cam works fine with adequate lighting...a expense reduction of $50 per month in my favor makes me warm up nicely to any compromise in picture quality. See more of the shadowy world at SSS2!

Tina's WW - Winter has passed...

We had way too mich snow this past winter. As a comparison, check the snow yet to be removed from our driveway on 10 Feb (and he is 75 inches/191 cm tall :). Happily it has now melted...see Tina's WW

Snow removal. 10 Feb 2013, Ansonia Connecticut

Tina's Pic Story - 'N' is for...

New Haven City Green

Port Chester New York, Hutchinson Parkway southbound

Nice Day, our patio in July

Tina is back with her fun meme Pic Story. The process is simple - she provides the weekly theme and we match that with our photos. This week, it is the letter 'N'. I found three items that should word: The city of New Haven, the state of New York, and our home on a Nice Day. I trust that I have met the theme!

Ruby Tuesday - Unburied red

A 1996 Neon is unearthed on 9 Feb - captured by Patti

Ruby Tuesday 2 returns on a crisp and sunny day of 60°F/16°C today (only 8°C tomorrow though...)

Nevertheless, a ruby view from 9 February and the massive Blizzard of 2013. It is of course Allegra's 1996 Plymouth Neon beginning to be unearthed after the 36 inch/ 95 cm snowfall. Why this ruby memory now? So we can more fully appreciate the exit of Winter...Happy and warm RT greetings to all :)