SANTA'S HERE

 

This giant Santa stands at a mall near me. The equivalent of the price is around $3,000! If you have the money, do you have room for him? Click in the photo to enlarge. The dog is not for sale at any price! 

WHERE I ONCE WORKED.....

I've been absent a few days, editing my photos from a recent trip. No new local Belgrade shots!  I'll be going to Paris for ten days beginning of December and will visit some of my old haunts.  I think the most impressive place I ever worked was the First National City Bank on the Champs-Elysees. I had a job that literally paid peanuts, but the surroundings.... The building was built in 1930 but now houses a gallery of boutiques...sad.  Below is the main entrance in the background and the staircase leading to the first floor. To use my grandmother's expression, "If I had a nickel for every time I...." I'd be rich. And I remember on occasion accompanying someone down in the 'basement' where the bank's huge vault stood. READ ABOUT THE VAULT HERE  and have a laugh.

 

THE FACE IN THE MUD

Moping around all morning and early afternoon because I didn't have a photo for today on my blog. Seriously. Took the dog for a walk in the field across the way and found this face in the mud.  It kind of looks like a witch who's lost her hat. I found a similar likeness RIGHT HERE ON THE INTERNET.

WINDOW

 I last featured THIS LOCATION on February 2nd. You can see the same 'sheets' hanging now as curtains inside this ground-floor apartment. As the other post was titled, "Keep Your Eyes Open', there is always something to see and you're never bored with your camera.

FACES

 I should perhaps find all my photos of intriguing faces. This lady reminded me of a long-gone member of my family and so I sneaked a shot of her.

WHERE?

 Ever since my elementary school years, I have loved this oil painting and wondered exactly what its location was. It is one of many painted by my great-great grandfather, a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania artist. I have always felt drawn to it. I came across this photo of me, aged around one and a half and suddenly was struck by what I think is a similar background. My grandmother said we never lived there, but I am wondering if perhaps my great-great grandfather had... Mystery. And the puppy's name was Toby, so I was told. 😊

I HATE LEAF BLOWERS

Autumn is called 'fall' in many places and of course that's when deciduous trees lose their leaves.  As a kid I loved to hear the 'scratch, scratch' of my grandparents taking leaves. It was work for them, but I always wanted to do it myself just to rejoice in that sound. My grandparents and I would form huge piles of leaves for me to jump into.

However, along comes efficiency, which in itself isn't a bad thing, but I absolutely HATE leafblowers (the machines, not the people!). Loud, stinky, and in short, disruptive. I think anyway the leaves have to be arranged in piles anyway. I know they're faster, but at what cost?

AS THICK AS PEA THOOP

 SYLVESTER J. PUSSYCAT, SR.,  the Looney Tunes/Merry Melodies Tweety-chasing cat, spoke with a pronounced lisp. One of his better-known expressions was 'as thick as pea thoop,' which is what today's fog is, seen from my window. I like pea soup and fog as well!

INDECISION

I was going to entitle this photo SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO? from The Clash's 1981 song with the same title, but the lyrics don't really have anything to do with the picture. "Indecision" is better. This elderly gentleman was speeding along, aided by his walking sticks, and then at the benches he just stopped. I waited a minute or two at a distance to see if he'd sit or keep walking. He did the latter and so did I.

GREEN-HAIRED BOY

 I really wanted to do this kid's portrait with his permission, but he was shy. So I sneaked a shot. I love his hair.

LOST IN HER THOUGHTS

 Her mind is elsewhere, like so many other commuters.