String of Pearls

I just finished teaching a 5 week photography class. The "focus" of the class was composition. I introduced my students to 9 mental maps that make photo composition easy to remember. To see all the principles that we learned this semester go to http://pointshootedit15s.blogspot.com. 

Last week we studied how to take pictures of a series of things, which I called "a string of pearls." Here are some of my examples.

A grouping of lavender makes a perfect string of pearls. 

A collection of rock roses makes another "string of pearls." 

The more "classic" string of pearls is this line of lights. 

Or these fish flags. It's fun to look for strings of pearls. 

Spanish Colonial Tiles

As I walked the streets and the Riverwalk area of San Antonio I saw lots of tile. 

I took some pictures...then I needed to take more. As I find them on my iPhone I'll post

them at this site. 

 

The Texas Theatre

In 1926 the Texas Theater was built on Houston Street in San Antonio. The 2 million dollar movie house was touted to be the finest theater in SA. Located a stone's throw from the San Antonio River (long before the Riverwalk was imagined) it showed first run movies until 1973. 

Then it fell into disrepair. In the 80s it was purchased for high rise office space, but there was a catch...the old  façade had to be grafted to the new structure. 

Today you see the remnants of the Spanish Colonial Rococo façade married to the big building. The old theater is still alive...at least it's memory is alive. 

This is a beautiful way to blend the past with the present. 

Today folks stroll past the old theater and probably do not know why the little building is nestled so closely to the tall (rather boring) office tower. 

Friends

Do pigeons have friends? 

They might?

Riverwalk, Mark 2

It was a good day to play along the Riverwalk. We took the Red Trolley to the Hemisphere then entered the walkway...had lunch then took a ride on the river. A delightful day. 

Along the way we saw the Alamo, one of 5 missions In San Antonio. We learned that the city was named San Antonio because it was founded by the Friars on the Saint's Day of St. Anthony. It was common for the Spaniards to name towns after Saints as many CA coastal cities are named for the saint's day they were discovered. 

Texans love their flag and their star. You see both everywhere. Here you see the flag and the Hemsiphere. 

The Riverwalk in San Antonio

I'm in San Antonio for a few days meeting some very old friends. Tonight we walked along the Riverwalk -- it was a beautiful night with a crescent moon and the reflections on the San Antonio River were wonderful. 

Say Hello to the Rockies

Q

I bet you thought I was writing about the mountains...surprise...I was talking about the flowers in the foreground. They are "Rock Roses" and I call them "Rockies." They bloom for only 2 weeks a year, and when they bloom they are glorious. They tell us it's spring...and the calendar tells us it's spring...only thing is, spring arrived in this part of the world sometime in February. Even though it looks green now, we need rain. The draught is real! To that end, I wonder what the real Rockies look like?

Cinderella

Yesterday I saw Cinderella and found it delightful. We all know the story, so the movie was all about how the story was presented. Disney created a feast for the eyes with lovely ball gowns, fantastic glass slippers, charming homes, cute critters, and a wickedly evil step mother and step sisters. Cate Blanchett was the beautiful but haughty step mother. Helena Bonham Carter played a slightly dottie fairy godmother. Lily James was the innocent and pure Cinderella. They all played their parts well. 

As I watched the movie I was transported back to simpler times where the kiss of the Prince would make my life end with "happily ever after." I forgot about terrorists and violence, and strife in general. For a few glorious minutes I was rooting for Cinderella to find her prince while I was hoping the step mother would get what she deserved; the message of "have courage and be hopeful" was always present.

If you want to get transported back to the land of Fairy Tales with castles and charming princes, where good is sweet and pure and bad is nasty and black, see Cinderella. Know you will be Disneyed to death (the other DrC would not go) and enjoy. I certainly enjoyed! 

Birthdays

I have fifteen friends who have birthdays between February 21 to March 12. This past week I went to two birthday parties. I enjoyed a lot of cake, which is one of my favorite deserts. 

              

On Wednesday I helped host a surprise party. To get the Birthday Girl to the party Itself, I blindfolded her, drove out of the way for a few miles before circling back to the restaurant where about 30 friends were waiting to yell surprise! It's was great fun!

PS: she was surprised!

Number 8

I just completed my eighth blanket of the year. The pattern is called Catherine Wheel. While it's pretty, I don't think I'll make it again...way too tedious and far too many "ends" to weave in. 

Every two rows there's a color change, and I used 4 different colors as you can see. The blanket is bright with orange and pink and two calmer colors of green and a variegated yarn combining the colors. Kids like LOUD and this is LOUD.

This strange shot shows my "collection" of blankets for this year. I'm turning them into my Project Linus Chapter today. I think of the blankets as smiles, so that's 8 more smiles for some children who might not smile a lot.

Number 7

I finished my 7th blanket for the year. I've called it Red Hot Chili.

It's my favorite zigzag pattern in red, cinnamon, orange and gold -- the color will keep you warm if the blanket won't. 

I have 2 blankets started, so I guess I'll finish one of them next.

Baby Sandals

A friend sent me a pattern for the cutest "booties" I'd seen in a long time. After reading the directions then looking at the online video instructions, I took yarn to hook and crocheted for about an hour.

At 4 inches long, they are supposed to be big enough for a 6 month old. 

I will be giving them to the grand-daughter of a friend of mine soon. If you would like a pair, let me know. They are really fun to make and cute to look at.

 

Are You Chipper?

Yesterday we rented a chipper to mow down an old mound of yard trimmings. 

This mechanical monster had a voracious appetite for dried wood that was amazing. Put in a limb from a tree and get chips. Sometimes the wood was so dry, the result was dust, but mostly we got chips. 

In the end, our mound was reduced to a pile which will be redistributed back to the land as mulch. 

We went from this pile of "stuff" to 

this pile of mulch. A pretty good trade!

Sunset Times Two

The first sunset during daylight savings time this year. 

And -- surprise it got better a few minutes later!

Poppies

I wish I had taken this picture...my friend Ed did. I've been looking for this field all spring, and it has eluded me. 

Is this pretty? or is this pretty!

Happy 18th Birthday

My crochet pal turns 18 today! She's a collector of elephants, so I bought her the tiniest, little, itsy-bitsy elephant for her birthday.

It's on a "string necklace" which is a "new" thing that teenage girls seem to like. The idea is to make a wish when you put the necklace on...then keep the necklace on day and night until the string breaks, at which time your wish will come true! Who knows if it works, but it is a cute idea. BTW, the charm is about 3/8 of an inch small. I think you might need to make a wish to recover the charm when the string breaks, but then I'm not 18 and far too practical.

Senior Learners

We started our OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) classes this morning. Both of our classes are filled...which is kind of fun. 

Our studrents are seniors...we are seniors...and all of us are learning. In fact, when I teach I never know who learns more...me or my students. These are the best students I've ever taught. They are alert, attentive, with-it, and just plain fun! 

As you can see, we are not in a fancy classroom. We do have wifi and a PC computer. Since I'm a Mac person, the computer is just about useless. This week I had my lesson prepared on an iPad and quickly discovered the equipment was not compatible. Thank goodness I had a backup plan that did work! Next week, I'll be ready...I'll bring my Mac! The bottomline--Always prepare for contigencies that are beyond your control!