PhotoHunt: Gather

A few years ago I vacationed in Naples, Florida. Spent the day shell seeking. Here's what I gathered. Yes, they are broken shells. I find these sometimes tell stories.....

PhotoHunt; Surprise

OK--here's the OTHER photohunt, and again apologies for being so late. These fingers have been knitting up a few last minute things and are a little sore to be typing. Here's my surprise photo. It's my neighbor's grandchild. I know i've used it before, but I love her childish expression of surprise! And, I just had to post the other picture -- my other neighbor. Isn't he a cutie?

PHotoHunt: Lights

How LATE am I? How about the neon lights of Times Square?

Seems like the past week has flown by just like the rest of this year. New Year's resolution: slow down and smell the petunias. Happy 2012 everyone! PS: New year's resolution #2: Be a better blogger.

PhotoHunt: Joy

I'm confused - I think there are two PhotoHunts going on so I'll join in both of them. This theme, Joy, is from Whistlestop's blog, who is taking over for Tnchick.

My photo is Venice's gondolas. I remember the first time I saw Venice. As I approached, I couldn't stop smiling as THIS was a place that looked exactly as every photo I had seen. Such JOY!.

PhotoHunt: Natural

Ah, Sedona. Brings to mind meditation, spirituality, and red rocks! Palakwapi, the Hopi word for "place in the red rocks," Sedona is sort of a gateaway to the Grand Canyon Park on one end. It's a place I intend to get back to next year.

This photo was taken in 2003 I think. Hard to believe almost 9 years ago. If you look closely you can see the empty beer bottle in the tree. Well, the scenery is a natural wonder anyway!

PhotoHunt; Christmas Decoration

Before I post my selections, i would like to "thank" everyone for not letting this fabulous, at times trying, exercise expire. Mahalo!

Now, I had a hard time finding just one photo, as Christmas is a very favorite season for me and a prelude to many family birthdays. Let the celebrations begin! I have posted a photo of my adopted (from my daughter) cat, Lilly, who loves Christmas almost as much as I: some vintage Christmas ball ornaments taken at Newburyport in an antique auction house, and a wreath that decorates my garden gate.

Enjoy your weekend!

Venice

I'm putting this link here for those of you not on Facebook. Some may recognize some of these 'characters' - furry ones too (Annie)!
http://vimeo.com/32740428

Sorry, I've been a bad blogger lately. Hopefully my life will deccelerate soon!

PhotoHunt; Wet/Rain

Ty and I spent a few days in Chicago last month - the first was a rain deluge. But, that didn't stop us although we were a little soggy by day's end. Here we are at "The Bean" in Millennium Park. If you look closely, you can see the rain drips off the side of the structure.

PhotoHunt: Two

Since I've been in the process of connecting cousins together, family has been on my mind. Hence, the twosomes are family photos. The graduates are now one-year newlyweds having graduated from UF; the other two photos are cousins. I assume in many families such as ours, the younger cousins just can't get enough time with their favorite cousins.

PhotoHunt: Sicily

Thought I would stay in Sicily for this week's post too. This is a shot of a Sicilian sunset - the last light of the day. This is one time I actually have truly scrolled through my Sicily photos and found some satisfaction with them. When I returned from my Sicilian trip, I was diagnosed with Legionnaire's Disease. Looking back, I was probably sick when I was on the trip too because I do remember not having a lot of energy during my 7 day stay on the island. Anyway, it is a wonderfully enriching place, lovely people and eye catching scenery - of course - beaucoup history as well from all the conquering lands in its history.

PhotoHunt; Broken

Broken as in 'ruin'.

The Greek amphitheater in Taormina, Sicily. Amid the Roman ruins of the island, this ruin certainly harks back to the Hellenistic period and demonstrates the Greek influence on this southern area of the Italian peninsula/island. In its day used as an amphitheater for oratory and by gladiators as a sport. Mount Etna can be viewed from here as much of Taormina is overshadowed by this active volcano.

PhotoHunt: High

High on the top floor of the university in Rome (a perk of working for a university), I was treated to Rome at twilight. It was a special treat to see the domes of Rome from this vantage point.

PhotoHunt; Waiting

While in Chicago to celebrate my son's birthday, we took in the architectural tour via Chicago's Fair Lady on the Chicago River. Our day began, waiting for the train.

Fortunately, the air show was going on that same weekend so we waited to catch a glimpse of the Blue Angels and their supersonic stints. There were many 'missed' opportunity as well as many blue sky (only) shots. But here are a few that made the wait worthwhile.

PhotoHunt: Covered

This photo was taken in San Gimignano. The twins were playing tag and one ran under cover of the doorway arch. When the other tagged her, the door opened unexpectedly and the one twin stopped the other from tumbling into the house.

We enlarged this and have it framed in our house. It was one of those times when the camera was 'ready' and the spontaneity was so evident.These two girls were precious!

Woods Hole, Massachusetts

Woods Hole - part of Falmouth on Cape Cod but really it's an entity all of its own.

Woods Hole, home of the world-reknown Oceanographic Institute.

To athletes, it's the start of the Falmouth Road Race, a qualifier for marathons.

To those vacationing to Martha's Vineyard or Nantucket, it's the spot one races to secure a place on the ferry over to the islands. This ferry is oversubscribed in much the same way as the road race is each summer.

To locals, out of season, Woods Hole is a step back in time and a breath waiting to exhale. The main street runs through this miniscule section of Falmouth and is sometimes interrupted by the draw bridge that allows the sailboat masts to pass from the harbor into the Sound. It's home to Pie in the Sky, a casually disguised gourmet eatery, where you order much like a sandwich shop and await your order in the heat of the screened entrance or step out and hosey a table near the street.

PhotoHunt: Yellow

This sunset was taken in Kauai last April (ah, seems soooo very long ago) at Barking Sands Beach, a remote and privately held land. We were fortunate to know someone in the Navy and there was an open cabin for the day. We were treated to this wonderful and lifetime memory. Nature in her all her glory.

Barking Sands is a beach on the island of Kauaʻi in the US state of Hawaiʻi. It is the location of Pacific Missile Range Facility, a rocket launch site and also an official Missile Defense Testing Area, both controlled by the United States Navy. It is no longer an actively used site for missile launches although there is a high degree of privacy on that stretch of beach. Why is it that the military owns some of the most beautiful scenery in the Hawaiian Islands and restricts access to the public! (Rhetorical question)

Salada Tea

This month I have taken Friday's off - which is a usual day off for Ty - and we have decided to make this a 'day trip' day, and get us out of the house's renovations. We were suppose to visit Portsmouth NH but due to phone calls and morning delays - well, we didn't want to make the trek of over an hour to reach our destination. Having remembered seeing enormous bronze doors from the now defunct Salada Tea Company on one of our evening jaunts a year or so back (when I was sans camera), we decided to venture off to see these mammoth masterpieces. So, with thoughts of seeing these doors up close and personal, we made our way to downtown Boston.

Upon our arrival we were met with construction men and hats. Even trying to conjole the construction workers to admit us into us into a hard hat zone, we unfortunately found this sign. Disappointed we moved on to our Plan B - the Museum of Fine Arts (another post for another day!).

I did manage to find some photos from the net which might give you an idea (albeit these photos do not do justice to the massive glory of these bronzes) of these hidden gems in Boston.

"The Salada Tea Company’s original U.S. headquarters and manufacturing plant, built on Stuart Street in 1917, incorporated ornate and enormous doors designed by British sculptor Henry Wilson in 1927. Twelve feet tall, weighing in at two tons, the doors depict the cultivation of tea in Ceylon, now known as Sri Lanka."

PhotoHunt: Wooden

A slight diversion - what's with the new layout in blogger? Don't they know I need a bit of a learning curve? This week's theme is wooden. Here are a few wooden boat winches (not wenches!) taken last week in an open-air 'antique' barn. I can only imagine the size of the boat, or rather ship, these were attached to.

PhotoHunt: Wrong

Found this topic a tad difficult. In this photo, the then defensive coach now head coach looks as if his message is 'wrong play' or 'wrong maneuver'. Would not like to feel the wrath of this coach, although it has been said he is really a nice man!

PhotoHunt: Symbolic

Section 42, row 37, seat 21 of Fenway Park.

This seat in right field was painted red to commemorate famed Red Sox Ted Williams' historic home run. It was 1946 and his homerun the longest homer in the history of the park. At the time, this gargantuan blast landed in actual bleacher seats and not as the seats we know housed at Fenway.

In any event it symbolizes just one little jigsaw piece of the Red Sox history.

PhotoHunt: Drink

A little late - Spent a long weekend in the fantabulous city of Chicago. First night was, of course, beer and deep dish pizza!

PhotoHunt: One

One Native American runner amid the 11,000+ at the Falmouth Road Race this weekend. It's an annual road race and an annual family event. This year there were only family 7 runners. One year we had 11. Next year they will run as a team.

My daughter registered and ran as my 72 year old sister (only residents can run if you don't make the qualifications) and Julie placed first in her category! HAHA! Of course, we couldn't let that go without a bit of ribbing so my niece's husband called my sister and said he was from New Balance (this year's sponsor) and wanted to set up an interview with her for running the race in a little over 1 hour (close to the record in that age group) and the first woman in that age category from Falmouth. We had her going for a while. She tried to break into his congratulations by telling the truth, but he kept on congratulating her.

PhotoHunt: Painted

Mea culpa for not being more present on these blogs over the last few months. It just seems life was going at warp-speed and deadlines - both personal and professionally - got in the way! But, I hope to catch up with all my blogging buddies and hope you are all well.

Since it's summer, the Cape is my destination most weekends. Appropriately, here are the gingerbread houses of Martha's Vineyard - San Francisco has her 'painted ladies' and the East Coast has the painted gingerbread houses along the harbor roads on Martha's Vineyard, bearing the colorful names of "Angel Cottage," "Wooden Valentine," and "The Pink House", to name just a few. Here are a few examples of these cottages.

PhotoHunt: Dirty

Dirty clothes dried Italian style. Clothes on a line, especially in Italy, is a favorite subject matter for shooting. I was actually in Siena and on the street that St. Catherine lived when I shot this photo last year. Last year? Seems like a lifetime ago at this moment.

Hope you all can enjoy a sun-filled weekend.

PhotoHunt: Looking Down

Down of course for the New York subway! Sorry I haven't been around lately...family matters have kept me from personal time to unwind. I was hoping this 4 day weekend would be restful but alas, it's not. Hope you are all able to enjoy this weekend and remember the veterans!

PhotoHunt: Missing

Here's a part of the The Parthenon Marbles collection at the British Museum. Noticeably, some limbs are missing from the stone wall reliefs. This exhibit has been housed at the National Museum since the early 19th century and was more informally known as the Elgin Marbles, after Lord Elgin, a British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, who absconded with these reliefs and sculptures from the Parthenon in Greece. However, since the 1980's the Greek government has called for the return of their missing ancient artworks. The debate is still ongoing over who is the rightful owner of these Marbles.

Dances with Luigi

This blog sometimes turns into a book review corner. But I wanted to share with my fellow Italiophiles a book I am presently reading.

Somewhere, I think it was the Slow Travel board, the reference to a book, Dances with Luigi, prompted me to catalog this title in my mind. I am now in the middle of this wonderfully enlightening book. Enlightening because it articulates a clearer understanding of how *maybe WHY would be a better description* I was raised in a first-generation Italian family.

Dances with Luigi was written by Paul Paolicelli, a news reporter turned author, who travels back to his ancestral roots. Although much of his wonderfully eloquent descriptions of Rome weave throughout the book, his travels through southern Italy are more poignant.

I find it refreshing to see an American's point of view evolve into an appreciation and understanding of how past political events fashioned the fabric of Italian families. And was equally surprised to find answers to trivial questions I had in my mind while traveling Italy: Crossroads were considered spiritual places in ancient Rome - one reason for decorating make-shift altars and shrines at intersections in Italy today. Upon his request, Raphael was buried in the walls of the Pantheon. Vittorio Emanuele II is also there.

I am particularly enjoying the juxtaposition Paolicelli places with the Italy of long ago and an American's view of Italy, the traditions of Italy both religiously and culturally, and the genteelness of the Italian people.

I gleaned an unspoken message from Paolicelli - the urgency and satisfaction of learning one's history. I never knew my grandfathers and both grandmothers died when I was still in single digits. Later in life I realized I had lost not only endeared family members but also a reservoir of vibrant family history and the culture of a small hilltop town in southern Italy in the late 1800s.

The author writes in describing Rome: "Several writers have compared Rome to a beautiful and intriguing woman who reveals little of herself to a stranger. One needs to take time and effort to get to know her/it." Love it!

The two photos are my paternal and maternal grandmothers.

PhotoHunt: Digital

Even maritime has gone digital .. thankfully. I am from a family of sailors and remember being in the fog with just a blow horn and wondering how far the ocean floor was from the boat's rudder. As the saying goes, 'you've come a long way, baby!'

This is my brother-in-law's boat. We frequently travel over Nantucket Sound to the Vineyard and Nantucket harbors during the summer. Digital instruments make these jaunts less stressful should the weather change quickly.

I caved

.. and got a Kindle prior to my Hawaii trip. Thought I would miss the feel of the paper and turning pages but didn't know how I was going to pack all the books I wanted to bring with me. Yup, shorts, bathing suits and sleeveless tops take a lot of room~

This trip was for serious relaxation so reading was a top priority. I shopped Amazon for six books and tucked the Kindle into my hand bag. Voila. Even ordered a Kauai tourbook (OK-I got carried away with the ordering aspect of it. I've been to Kauai 3 times and have a seasoned tour guide beside me but couldn't stop myself)!

Last weekend I was having a pedi/manicure and the woman beside me asked me how I liked the Kindle. She had the same reservations as I had...seems I wasn't alone. Have to say the Kindle is a good way to travel.

PhotoHunt: Square

A famous landmark in Boston is the square Citgo neon sign that is located in Kenmore Square - just down the street from Fenway Park. It is a double-faced sign that measures 60'x60' so it can be seen as a beacon in surrounding towns.

It didn't always look like this though. Here's the initial sign in a much older Kenmore Square