This and That: A Blog

Skywatch Friday Some days lately have been absolutely lovely.  Wednesday was one of those days (it looks like today will be too, although there was a red sky at morning ).  These are some of the skies and sights on a country drive Wednesday afternoon.  It took me a bit to realize I could take photos along the way as I wasn't the one driving!  The rest are out my window, not leaning across at a stop sign! Roxy Ann Peak on the right. Mount McLoughlin's snow will become my water, after it percolates down through volcanic soils to emerge as springs.   A lovely view of the garbage transfer station!  Behind that, to the right is Upper Table Rock, to the left Lower Table Rock.  In the middle, further away, is the Sams Valley/Gold Hill Ridge system of the Siskiyous.  It includes Sams Valley Butte, Galls Creek Ridge, and the foothills  The Rogue River.  TouVelle State Recreation Site is on either side of the bridge. During summer's heavier w...

 Let's travel to Southern European Cities for this week's Thursday Postcard Hunt . First, a Multi-View of Athens, Greece. Moving west we find two of Florence, Italy.  Heading west again, we come to Binibeca (Binibeca Vell), on the Balearic Island (Spain) of Menorca.   Next week will be Northern European Cities.

 Finally the thrifting dry spell ended.  I found this still life on fabric (not art canvas) that was framed in Paris ( O h là là! ) on a new cart at Goodwill.  The color is a bit brighter than here. St. Vincent de Paul had these Japanese made ceramic dogs.  The pair was surprisingly sold as a set, they often label things "each."  Another new thing they'd done was to white glue them down to index cards.  At least it was white glue and I just had to soak their feet to melt it.  Still, it might damage some items. Plus, I couldn't verify the Made in Japan mark for myself.    I'm pretty sure I have another dog in a hat, a yellow hat.  It's not on the shelf, but I had all of the dogs down for Christmas and some are still packed.  There is no photo of it, but I might have gotten it long before I took photos digitally.  I also got quite a bit of ephemera that day.  Some interesting stuff. That's for next week.  

"Welcome to The Numbers Game #111 . Today’s number is 233.To play along, go to your  photos file folder and type the number  233 into the search bar. Then post a selection of the photos you find that include that number and post a link to your blog in my Numbers Game blog of the day."

  Sunday Stamps this week is B , and I've picked Animals for a sub-theme. I'm finding it hard to narrow down my animals! Three B irds... B ooby, the Red-Footed variety Montserrat 1970  B ustard, not just any b ustard, it's the Great B ustard, one of the heaviest flying b irds in the world! Russia 2024 B ird of Paradise Papua New Guinea 1957 ... and a B rown  B ear, a semi-postal with surcharge to raise funds for the Moscow Zoo.  Future letters will feature other animals in the series. Soviet Union 1988 C will be next week. 

 Cities is February's theme for Thursday Postcard Hunt .  This week is Asian Cities.  China Beijing Olympic Park On the left is the National Aquatics Center, and the right is the Beijing National Stadium.  Their nicknames are The Water Cube and Bird's Nest.  The city of Beijing is in the background. Hong Kong In the foreground is the Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter, the first such shelter built in Hong Kong to provide shelter for vessels during typhoons.  The mountain in the background is Victoria Peak. Japan The city of Kobe seen from Suwayama Park. Nepal Patan Durbar Square in the center of the city of Lalitpur.  It's one of three Durbar Squares (public plazas in front of old royal palaces) in the Kathmandu Valley, all UNESCO World Heritage Sites.  Next week's Cities will be Southern European.