Wynken, Blynken, and Nod at the LP Zoo

I spent a lot of time near this sculpture as a kid. I mean, a lot. The poem was written by Eugene Field in the 1880s, I think.





And here's what my kid thinks of it...

Fun

New Blog

Hello, I've started a new blog of photos from my grandmother's travels. After she passed away, I inherited a large box of "junk". There are hundreds of pictures I will archive. Here are a few goodies. Unfortunately there aren't many good ones, quality-wise, but the subject matter sure is fascinating! She inspired me to travel, too. And in some cases the only way I was able to identify the photo's location was by personal experience.

La Mason de Francisco et Jacinta, Fatima 1981


Mexico 1976


Jerusalem 1980

First day, first grade.

Uneventful. Except for getting lost after school, things were old hat to her.

Before school she had the sneezes, as usual.


Danced around a bit.



Complained about her shoes.


And then got on the bus.


In class they read a few books she already has and got to know each other.

Not too many calories

The rocky road near the drainage area of our local pond.

Thinking about: Funny things about my fun kid

1. She saw a commercial about Libman mops and said, in all sincerity, "Cool! Did you see THAT?!"
2. Her current favorite show is "If Walls Could Talk"
3. She goes around the house with her spy kit and desperately tries to lift my fingerprints
4. She likes doing laundry
5. She's oddly methodical and process-oriented about playing, of all things
6. Listens to music and actually asks me what the band name is when she hears something she likes:
Her: What's this band?
Me: The Ramones.
Her: The Moans, that's good stuff.
Me: It's a cd, do you want to borrow it?
Her: Yeeeaaaahhhh!!!!

Two of the Five Ws

What did you get?


Who gave it to you?

The Zaffa

The wedding procession or Zaffa involves an exotic band leading the wedding with a group of people holding candles, and then the bride appears with her groom. It's spectacularly hypnotic. The music involved about 40 minutes of playing instruments and everyone seemed to know the words. This song is similar to the one at my friend's wedding, except instead of the horn there was a bagpipe-like instrument. (Sorry about the photos. My camera was too much to carry so I brought the point 'n shoot.) YOU MUST CLICK HERE AND LISTEN!!!

Mehndi Pre-Wedding Party

My good Egyptian friend got married! Here are some photos of the pre-wedding mehndi party at her sister's place downtown. My Muslim friends get these temporary skin decorations made from henna stain as part of wedding celebrations. The women who do the henna are so artistic and fluid!

The views from the deck... not bad!!!




Her mother's henna...




And mine...

Mundane

Chicago's Tallest Building: The Serious Tower

We went downtown again today. Went up the Searious Tower and fooled around at Cloud Gate. What a sculpture! I miss my city. She said, "Why can't we live HERE?" You can, someday.

Fence Faces

Ever notice your fence's faces? Don't ask why, but I did. Here are just a few of the dozens I've been living among without regard. Unfortunately, there were very few happy faces out there.

Angry


Thinking of a response...


A little dopey


Anguish


Conversation

Rainbow and Pinhole

The 4th and whatnot

Well, here we go. There are too many pictures from the 4th, of the parade, etc. So, here are a few from the fun times. I didn't really have opportunity to work on the fireworks and no chance at all for nighttime pictures of the carnival. There's always next year...