It was supposed to be snowing and it still might, though from the color of the sky, I’m putting my money on rain mixed with sleet. That is not my favorite weather. It was almost summer yesterday, but the temperature has been dropping since this morning and it’s nasty out there. Cold. Damp. Just enough breeze to tell your bones to go take a hike.
Despite first appearance, these are not monochrome. That’s just the way things look this time of year. As I keep saying — not great photography weather. But soon, soon. It will come.
Assay means “attempt.” When you say “I’m going to assay that climb,” you’re going to try to do it. There is, within the context of the word, a sense of insecurity. That you will try but not necessarily succeed. Subjunctive, sort of. English is not a subjunctive language. We don’t have the tenses to get it right.
Everything feels a been subjunctive these days. Getting up from a chair … can I do it without pushing is one hand? When I get up, will I fall back down? I still tend to load up my hands with whatever I think I need to take with me only to realize I have to put at least half of it down because I need one hand to push me out of the sofa. Oh those joys of aging!
One tiny patch of snow
It was supposed to snow today. So far, it hasn’t done anything at all, though the sky is a leaden gray that says more about rain than snow. But it’s definitely getting colder as the day goes on. Usually, days get warmer. This isn’t on of those days. So maybe we will get something, though sleet, snow, rain — or a delicious mix of all three is yet to be decided.
Regardless, in 48 hours, spring will come back. Or so the weather guys promised.
Not much. I’m not a big fancier of eggs, although I do like omelets. My mother was an awful cook and made really disgusting eggs. It sort of ruined me for the egg experience.
Have you ever met anyone famous?
President William Clinton and Hillary Clinton. And Chelsea. Twice. Kate Taylor and other brothers, but not James. Charlton Heston. Henry Fonda. Sidney Poitier. Alfred Eisenstadt. A lot of TV people and I really don’t remember all of them because it was mostly at parties and I’m bad with names. Patricia Neal. John Kerry. Lots of pols.
Garry with his heroes of baseball. Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY
But you have to remember — Garry was a reporter, so HE was considered a “famous” person in a regional way. He gave autographs. Sometimes, he still does. The big deal for me was Alfred Eisenstadt because I had always admired his photography and to get to really know him, even though it was the very end of his life, was a really big deal for me.
I have “met” a bunch of authors online, though not in person. I treasure ever tiny communication with all of them. I adore writers. Some I love even more than others.
What was the first thing you bought with your own money?
The only thing I remember buying with my money — a believe it was a $5 gift from my Aunt Kate — was a Ginny doll. We had a local toy store and Ginny dolls were quite The Thing for little girls.
Otherwise, until I left home, I didn’t have money unless someone gave me some on my birthday. Any money I earned over the summer or part-time after school went into my college fund and I never got my hot little fingers on it. I had enough money for the bus, the subway, and occasionally, lunch.
If I wanted more money, I had to walk to school … which I did. Four days of walking to school equaled two slices of pizza and a coke. My parents weren’t big on handing out cash to kids. But to be fair, none of the parents of my friends were big allowance givers either. It was a blue collar neighborhood and money went to savings accounts, mortgages, and home repairs. We all got the minimum amount we needed to do what we needed to do and that was it. No mall rats in our crowd.
What did you appreciate or what made you smile this past week? Feel free to use a quote, a photo, a story, or even a combination.
I took a few pictures I really like. I feel better than I felt last week. And … we are one week closer to springtime.
This week’s challenge are faces “in the crowd.” These are the people you never meet. Crowds of tourists. The folks lined up to buy tickets at the game. Happy faces, worried faces.
Ready for the big kayakTouristsMore tourists
This is a favorite subject. I’m less interested in landscape and more interested in the people, their dogs, and the stories I’ll never know. They give a human shape to Boston, a story different than just the sidewalks and walls.
Waiting in line
This is Boston’s Wharf. Tourists. Visiting us while we visit them.
Black and White Photography Challenge: Seven days. Seven black and white photos of your life. No people. No explanation. Challenge someone new each day.
Since I’m an old time player at this game, I’m letting people in as long as it’s not a portrait and not the primary part of the image.
I invite you to consider giving this challenge a try, even if you’ve done it already. An extra push to do better photography is good for your art. Moreover, finding a black & white picture that somehow represents “you” in a visual way poses an interesting challenge — an artistic double-whammy, so to speak. At least one of the pictures I used in the first round of these challenges turned out to be one of my most popular-ever posts.
Davis Way Cole has gotten stuck. Not permanently stuck, mind you, but stuck in the house, stuck with the kids, stuck in that life of children and housewifery that is a not-so-rare thing for working women. But the time has come for her to move out of the house and get back to work. There’s her family, of course and whenever they pop into her life, it just gets crazy. And there’s the Bellissimo casino. It has come a long way back from its near demise, but it has a way to go and it’s time for Davis to get back on board and help.
As it typical of all of Gretchen Archer’s hilarious yet incredibly complex novels, the dog show, the dogs, the people, the absolutely everything that could possibly go wrong or off the rails, does.
One of the truly delicious aspects of Ms. Archer’s writing is her ability to take a wildly complicated story, tie up all the ends, and come out in the end with all the hanging parts of the story neatly tied up in a proper bow. This one is no different and if it wouldn’t give away too much, I’d tell you more.
Double Dog Dare
Davis Way is growing up. Her world is still crazy. Her boss is definitely crazy and her family is charmingly wacko … but she’s maturing. She’s smart. She may not always make the perfect decisions, but she doesn’t make her decisions casually or without serious thought. She cares about people she is close to … and she also cares about all the people who ramble through her life. So the books aren’t merely funny. They are also warm and frequently touching.
Want a sip from my Double Whammy cup?
Suffice to know that this is one intelligent, funny, thoughtful, weird, complicated book where everything is happening at the same time and it looks like it’s all different things. Yet, somehow, most of it comes together and all of it gets sorted out. This is a life and death tale that will leave you laughing, crying, and hugging your dog.
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