Hearts Afloat

A piece of my heart is traveling to faraway lands aboard this ship.

Post office's cornerstone

After walking out of the post office this afternoon,

I noticed that the cornerstone bore this inscription.

I was shocked to learn that my grandmother is older than the building.

She is in MUCH better shape.

One Day I Was Walking Along

You can be walking along, thinking nothing in particular, just one foot in front of the other, and suddendly, BAM! Something so simple, so ordinary, takes you back, completely and entirely, to an instant long ago.

Video art installation

I was coming out of a hula class

And I passed this video art installation.

Ghostly. Otherworldly.

Totally awesome.

Sometimes I love living in NYC.

Resilient

Year after year, in spite of numerous attempts of destruction, these resilient poinsettias not only return but flourish. I look forward to their annual display and smile in remembrance of the sweet grandmotherly neighbor who planted them over 30 years ago. Many different residents have come and gone but these poinsettias always seem to return as if saying "I'm still here". For me, they are a tribute in honor of our dear sweet "Winnie".

Cabbage on the Car Hood

I haven't got a clue, have you?

Walking down my street today, I passed this and thought, "Cabbage on the car hood. Right." And walked on by.

Then my brain caught up to my eyes - "What? Did you say, 'Cabbage on the car hood?!' "

I had to turn around and walk back to check. Yep. Cabbage spread out carefully on the car hood. And the weirdest thing is that I wonder if I would have even seen it, if not for this blog commitment of stopping and noticing.

Swinger

Found this tree swing to be very tempting......

Urban Wildlife - Black Squirrel

Here in Inwood (a.k.a "Upstate Manhattan"),

we have lots of black squirrels.

This one has obviously been eating well all winter.

Cool.

Patterns

They say that our brains search for patterns. Now I can't stop seeing patterns, wherever I look.

Unpredictable

Although this photo is technically being posted on Sunday, it was intended to be my Saturday post however as unpredictable as the wind can be so was my day beginning with leaving my camera battery in the charger at home all day while I was away (thank goodness for phone cameras) and ending after midnight following a 3 hour stint in the ER with my grandson and his ear infection (and thinking if I had the Internet on my phone then I could have made this post on time but still not going to add one more thing to my phone) so today's motto for me I suppose would be better late than never and to bend with rather than against the wind.

It's White Shoulders

I keep the White Shoulders perfume bottle with the tiniest bit of oily liquid spread across the bottom. It sits for years, unnoticed, until some unexpected movement knocks it from the night stand.

I'll think to myself -"Self, it's time to toss that out."

It's more than 20 years old. White Shoulders can't possibly be popular anymore. And it must be rancid. "Throw it out, it's of no use. You don't need it anymore." But I'll need to check, to convince myself that it's useless now.

I'll unscrew the top and wave the small bottle in figure eights under my nose.

Before I can think, the smell of my mother grabs hold and she's bending towards me to say good night as she and my dad leave for their evening out. And she kisses me on the lips and I wipe away the red lipstick before I can taste it, and I say, "Mmmm, you smell good" and she says, like every time before, and every time after, "It's White Shoulders."

Coney Island amusement parks in the winter

Today I had to take a 2-hour subway ride to get to a school where I was teaching.

My 'ukulele and I went all the way out to Coney Island.

I snapped this photo of the deserted park from the train--outdoors & elevated at this point.

Romantic.

Scary.

Cool.

Ashy Trash

Seen at a rest stop in Escondido, CA

My Living Room Wall

Sometimes, to stop and notice, I don't have to go any further than my living room. How can it be that  I can pass by this, day after day, week after week - months go by - and I have forgotten, during all that time, to simply stop and notice.

Attack of the thrift shop mannequins

Upon entering a thrift shop today,

I was confronted by this angry gang of female mannequins.

I didn't stay very long.

Dusk

Tonight I walked to the grocery store.

I looked up and this is what I saw.

It kind of took my breath away.

(And I was amazed at how much the branches looked like veins.)

How To Enjoy Los Angeles

1) Adopt a Golden Retriever from the Pasadena Humane Society.
2) Climb a hill in northeast Los Angeles.
3) Sit on the trail, lean back against the tall grass on the hillside.
4) Call your dog over.
5) Listen to the hundreds of song birds.
6) Watch the pair of redtailed hawks.
7) Wonder why everyone doesn't do this.

Lending Library

In a corner of a Mexican restaurant, that my family and I often frequent, is this little area with a tall book shelf, that houses primarily mystery novels, which serves as a sort of lending library where customers (or as I like to think, friends) can trade, donate, or borrow books. Our family has celebrated many occasions there and is so comfortable in the surroundings that it feels like we are having dinner at a friend’s house. We have come to think of the owner and staff as a strange sort of extended family. This added feature makes it all the more friendly for me.

Inspiration station

A few years ago, my buddy, Wendy, made me a gift.

It used to be a jewelry box that someone had discarded.

She plucked it from the trash and transformed it.

Painting it. Covering it with inspiring & evocative words.

Building a dinosaur diorama where a drawer had once lived.

A feast for the eyes and the imagination.

It inspires me to create.

I dubbed it my "Inspiration Station."

At the Getty

 "Don't touch the art work!"

I took this picture many months ago. But it was with my old Pentax K1000 35mm film camera (still my favorite way to take pictures) and I just now had a chance to get into the photo lab to develop and print.  Love the process. Love the result.