• Candid Portraits,  People/Portraits,  quotes

    Moving on…

    January 13, 2024

    “Whether we experience what happens to us as obstacle and enemy or as a teacher and friend depends entirely on our perception of reality. It depends on our relationship with ourselves.”

    Pema Chödrön

    Weather app says it’s −11° and feels like -24°. They are spot on. We also had a dusting of snow overnight. After quiet time I made myself a bhakti chai, wrapped a blanket around myself, settled in for some reading and journaling. After my phone call with Eric I drove to Starry Night because today is Stephen’s last day as my barista. He’s a very good barista and very personable, one of my favorites. No one who walks in will feel like a stranger when he is working. So, I wanted to say goodby on his last day. He has been working and studying to be an EMT and was just hired by the fire department in Johnstown. I enjoy watching as young people move on to new paths. I’ve seen that a lot with baristas, which means I have to train another barista. Good luck and have fun, Stephen! Its now 11:43 am and we’ve warmed up to −6°.

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  • Candid Portraits,  coffee life

    Halloween – 2023

    October 31, 2023

    Looks like James, my barista, had a long night but is still smiling this morning. And, coming home from coffee shop I saw a six foot tall fluorescent green bunny rabbit walking along West Prospect. Suspect they were headed towards campus. Could be an interesting place to visit today.

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  • Candid Portraits,  coffee life,  coffee shops,  People/Portraits,  shadows

    Usual Morning Crowd

    October 31, 2022
    Adriana

    My weather app said 23 degrees this morning. So, I decided to take the bus for coffee because I didn’t wanna scrape frost off my windshield. Think I’ve done enough of that in my lifetime. Walked into the coffee shop and found this cute little devil peeking around the coffee carafes. She made a darn good mocha for me. I saw a few other coffee shop regulars all dressed up in their finest. Then caught the glimpse of a blue dragon and a black gorilla at the transit center. Just the usual morning crowd around campus. 😂

    Around midday I drove to Wolverine Farms to write and soak up the sun. Was thrilled to see tiny creature costumes all over Old Town, children hungry for candy. There were little firemen, princesses, dragons, super heroes, pumpkins, skeletons, bats and cats and more. Yea, for the businesses in Old Town to support the children. Just the usual morning crowd around Old Town. 😂

    Selfie at the bus stop

    Nature abhors uniformity.

    Nature not only produces species diversity but also individual diversity.

    Nature produces individuals. No two days are the same, no two snowflakes, no two flowers, trees, or any other of the infinite life-forms.

    Thomas Berry

    Interesting how I wanted to fit in when younger then later in life wanted to be different. Now I want to become my authentic/true self, wearing no masks or costumes, belonging in this world. Happy Halloween!

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  • Black and White,  Candid Portraits,  People/Portraits,  quotes,  street photography

    A couple of questions to ponder…

    October 20, 2022
    New York City – 2008

    “I’m a child of God, and being a child of God, I’m essential, and no one has the right to limit, or the power to limit, my ability to be somebody.”

    Ruby Sales

    “What would our world look like if everyone believed and were given the ability to be somebody?” Please spend a bit of time with that question. Which then leads to the next question, “Does our inability to believe we are essential lead us to think of others as inessential and treat them as less than?” I find it important to ask myself those questions and then how do I live the answers to those questions? Sorry but I actually asked three questions. 😁

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  • Candid Portraits,  clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  People/Portraits,  photographers

    Visitors

    September 22, 2020

    Tom and Kathy Dills with breakfast smiles at the Chicken Coop

    No landscape images this morning. Instead I’m going to post a couple of images of Tom and Kathy Dills from the short visit we had.  Pretty impressive smiles from both of them considering the road miles they have put in. Driving from North Carolina to the northwest coast and back is not the same as a jaunt to the grocery store. And, include a pandemic and the fact most of the west coast seems to be on fire and you can understand the task they took on. This was yesterday morning at the newly opened Chicken Coop, a American Mexican restaurant nearby.

    Kathy checking out the uncomfortable rock

    They arrived Sunday afternoon. After connecting up we drove to the Pineridge Natural Area and then to Reservoir Ridge Natural Area where we took a short walk to the rock. This is a location I enjoy because of the quiet and solitude I can experience. At the present time it’s not as quiet because they’re using the open field south of the natural area as a staging area for the helicopters battling the Cameron Peak fire. Kathy tried sitting on the uncomfortable rock and agreed it’s purpose is not long term sitting. They left yesterday morning and expect to arrive in Charlotte on Thursday. It was a short visit but hopefully there will be more opportunities.

     

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  • Food,  lifestyles

    Pizza Party

    December 9, 2019

    Sylvia and her calzone

    My friend, Joan, invited me to a pizza party offered by her co-workers. Interesting idea because they have a brick wood fired oven on their back porch. They provided the pizza dough and cheese. All we needed was to provide the toppings. No anchovies!! So, we rolled these 7 inch size pizza, added your choice of sauce then laid on the toppings of your choice. The pizzas were ready in about 3-4 minutes. This is Sylvia who decided a calzone would be better. She claimed it was good although she did not share it with me. Have a great day!

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