Urban Madonna, Ninth Street, South Philly

Laundry on Line in Croatia

Angels

Croatian Church Sign

Weekly Photo Challenge: Delicate

This week’s challenge is delicate. I held up this tiny crystal swan to catch the light from the dining room chandelier.

The swan’s neck is delicate.

City Rooftop Horsey

I’m sure there’s a great story behind the placement of this molded plastic creature, dangling from a wire frame atop a building!

You might remember, depending on how long you have been following the blog, that my friend Sally said that things come in threes.

And the day before that there was the horse of a different color. The post the day before that one was The Old Gray Mare (or stallion).

There was the steed left by a cowboy in an Arlington neighborhood alley, just like the one Chicago John rode as a kid.

And here is the latest one I caught yesterday as I sat in traffic in East Liberty and happened to see it up on the roof.

“Found” rocking horses or rocking horse heads in the city are a theme without my even realizing. Maybe someone is going around the city and placing them for me to find!

Here are the aforementioned horse sightings in the city cause let’s face it- who has time to return to old blogposts?

There are at Least 14 Ways to Spell It!

And here is an article explaining the most popular and the second most popular way to spell- Hanukkah or Chanukah? The Festival of Light.

Tuesday- the fourth night.

I was invited for potato latkes and the lighting of the Hanukkah candles at my friend’s house. We taught together these past 6 years until I moved to the high school this year. The first photo is her beautiful Menorah on the mantle. Her kids are grown up and out of town, too. She and her husband and I sat by there fire and then she lit the fourth candle. It gets dark so early now as we approach the shortest day of the year. The warmth of the fire and the glow from the colorful candles was lovely.

After we ate the latkes(served with sour cream and or applesauce) Ann lit the fourth candle.

We left for an adventure, traipsing around Squirrel Hill, Murray Avenue and Forbes. Up and down trying to decide where we should eat! At least it wasn’t raining. We had a nice evening, catching up on our families and school and mutual friends. When we walked by the Giant Eagle supermarket and a young man asked if we were Jewish and she said, yes and he asked if she had candles. Then we saw the table set up in front of the market with another young man cooking latkes on a griddle. They had applesauce available and their organization had a big sign on the Menorah. They told me they were “spreading light in the world.” I asked if it would be okay to blog them and they gathered to gather for a group shot. Pulled out the cell phone camera. Yep, my camera was back by Ann’s house in the back trunk of the car.

Thanks Ann for including me in the candle lighting and for taking me on a good healthy walk around the neighborhood to find the best dinner.

Home of the 5 lb. Hamburger!

Yes, that’s 80 ounces of meat. But not a photograph to prove it exists. Just this sign on the overhang. A site describes this place as a Sports Bar, a local hangout, a joint!

Maybe the five pound hamburger weighs a bit less after grilling? The way the punctuation goes I’m not sure if there is a five pound hot dog or a five pound pirogue, too

I was at a red light on Friday at the intersection in some traffic. Good timing. When you have a 50mm fixed lens on your camera and you’re in the driver’s seat, stopped, there’s no maneuver room, no way to get more of the establishment in the frame. This is the shot. There was no place to park or get out. I was on my way to see the family. Friday afternoon traffic, bumper to bumper.

But it was the sign that caught my eye. Nobles on Nobles Lane down the street from school. It wasn’t open when I was stopped in front. I know it would’ve been cool to actually go in and order one, document the gargantuan meat.

Front Porch Ambient Light Portrait- Godmother/Goddaughter

Taking photos of people on the front porch is the nicest light. Not too much, not too little. Like Baby Bear- it’s just right!

No squinting from the midday sun either (but there really wasn’t any full sun this weekend, due to some thick cloud cover and rain, rain, rain)

Was out visiting in Columbus and getting ready to go home. Matty and Maura and I were in a separate car from the rest of the family due to schedules and timing. We swung by Laura and James’ house to see their freshly decorated tree that a few hours earlier had been tied on the roof of their car. I took a Christmas photo of them in their living room so had the camera out as we headed back to the car. “Quick” Laura said. “Godmother, goddaughter shot!” Pressed once and it shot two in quick succession.

And that is how the Front Porch Ambient Light Portrait got taken on Sunday afternoon before I headed back to Pittsburgh to start a new school week.