Outrageous Lighting or Bloggers Evening Out/ABC

This blogger rarely goes out in the evening.
But when she is invited to join Alexa and Lori and Ming in welcoming Eric, of Paris Daily Photo, to New York, she manages to take the bus up 23rd Street to Broadway.



Pipa, on 19th Street, has an amazing number of chandeliers - you can buy them or merely enjoy them.
Ming has a much better picture.



The affects of light are very pretty.
The sangria delicious.
The company delightful.
We talked about healthcare and politics.........and Paris.



On the way out, I look back into the restaurant.
Always rather fun - being outside gazing in.



The first very cold, wet, windy night.
I give up and take a taxi home.

Treasure Box Wednesday: Good Books on Snowy Days

The days have turned colder, and many of us across the U.S. have seen our first signs of those little white flakes. (No, no, not dandruff-- those other little white flakes.) And in times when the wind blusters and howls, and the cold winds cut through the jackets, there's nothing more appealing than thoughts of a comfy chair, a nice hot beverage, and a good book.

So since I didn't go thrifting this last week (no thrifting?!- GASP!), today I peered into the Treasure Box and found these lovely Victorian books to share with you.

I'd written a post on Victorian pulp fiction a while back (you can read that here if you're interested), but there's such a wide range of beautiful covers to share, one post really couldn't contain them.

I mean, just look at The Fortunes of Fifi...


With a title like that, you just know there's peril and adventure ahead for the plucky heroine! And look at the art nouveau curves to the cover, and the soft pastels. They don't make 'em like that anymore.

Or this tiny little chapbook of "The House of Seven Gables" by Nathaniel Hawthorne...


The intricately done cover has a strikingly-detailed ingraving inset right into it. You can see that closer here...


And here-- call me "Ishmael!" Okay, so maybe literature has room for two Ishmael's...


I have yet to read this particular one, but I suspect it doesn't involve a white whale. If it did, it would probably be pictured behind the charming art of the lady with the letter on the cover. (And wouldn't she be startled!)

I've had this colorful copy of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage for a number of years...

The curving vined roses are always a real pleasure to see.

This copy of Maggie Miller picks up similar colors in its palette, with the red of her Gibson Girl tie, and the bright bonnet using all the vividness of the time...


Mary Holmes' Meadow Brook is another read ready to showcase the idealized girl of its time...


With her large hat, bouffant hairdo and trim suit, these girls were a standard around the turn-of-the-century in art and on household items.

This copy of Tales from Shakespeare involves an almost William Morris style pattern of pine cones, pine needles and spring daffodils....

It's a real shift of the seasons.

And lastly, we have this small children's booklet for Easter...

"The Secret to a Happy Day," it's called.

Here's hoping you uncover the secret to your own happy day, whatever it may be-- for this day, and throughout this week...

Perhaps it's a good book?

• If you missed Sunday's post sharing versatility, vavoom and very scary possibilities of vintage tuna recipes, click here.

See you for the next post on Sunday!

Treasure Box Wednesday: Good Books on Snowy Days

The days have turned colder, and many of us across the U.S. have seen our first signs of those little white flakes. (No, no, not dandruff-- those other little white flakes.) And in times when the wind blusters and howls, and the cold winds cut through the jackets, there's nothing more appealing than thoughts of a comfy chair, a nice hot beverage, and a good book.

So since I didn't go thrifting this last week (no thrifting?!- GASP!), today I peered into the Treasure Box and found these lovely Victorian books to share with you.

I'd written a post on Victorian pulp fiction a while back (you can read that here if you're interested), but there's such a wide range of beautiful covers to share, one post really couldn't contain them.

I mean, just look at The Fortunes of Fifi...


With a title like that, you just know there's peril and adventure ahead for the plucky heroine! And look at the art nouveau curves to the cover, and the soft pastels. They don't make 'em like that anymore.

Or this tiny little chapbook of "The House of Seven Gables" by Nathaniel Hawthorne...


The intricately done cover has a strikingly-detailed ingraving inset right into it. You can see that closer here...


And here-- call me "Ishmael!" Okay, so maybe literature has room for two Ishmael's...


I have yet to read this particular one, but I suspect it doesn't involve a white whale. If it did, it would probably be pictured behind the charming art of the lady with the letter on the cover. (And wouldn't she be startled!)

I've had this colorful copy of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage for a number of years...

The curving vined roses are always a real pleasure to see.

This copy of Maggie Miller picks up similar colors in its palette, with the red of her Gibson Girl tie, and the bright bonnet using all the vividness of the time...


Mary Holmes' Meadow Brook is another read ready to showcase the idealized girl of its time...


With her large hat, bouffant hairdo and trim suit, these girls were a standard around the turn-of-the-century in art and on household items.

This copy of Tales from Shakespeare involves an almost William Morris style pattern of pine cones, pine needles and spring daffodils....

It's a real shift of the seasons.

And lastly, we have this small children's booklet for Easter...

"The Secret to a Happy Day," it's called.

Here's hoping you uncover the secret to your own happy day, whatever it may be-- for this day, and throughout this week...

Perhaps it's a good book?

• If you missed Sunday's post sharing versatility, vavoom and very scary possibilities of vintage tuna recipes, click here.

See you for the next post on Sunday!

Minsokchon

Hamilton has one Korean restaurant worth going to - Minsokchon. Heck, I might as well type it out in Korean - 민속 전.

The bowl of brightness is not holy food, its plain rice. The best thing about the place is that everything in white bowls are refillable!

Sucked Dry

Its strange how these doodles, do in some way reflect my mood. Take that anyway you like, you may be right and you may be very wrong.

Also today the blog is:
TWO FUCKING YEARS OLD!
Where the heck did that time go?

Visuual Artists in Science Fiction and Fantasy

When I was younger, I would be entranced by the intricate illustrations on the science fiction or fantasy novel I was about to read. As I would read the novel, the words would begin to paint the picture for me and place me in worlds or situations I could smell, taste, and feel. That is not to take away from the illustrator who spent hours on his/her rendition for the book cover. I love visual art as much as literary art so I began looking into visual artists.
As I was searching for some interesting science fiction artists, I discovered that the majority illustrate vs. traditional painting or the various methods of printmaking, and most do both science fiction and fantasy as well as horror.

I was looking at the work of Australian artist Greg Bridges. He was influenced by sci fi writers such as H.G. Wells, and also influenced by the painter Salvador Dali. His work is intriguing and detailed. He works primarily with acrylics, but also uses a variety of media. I have a link to his site so you can enjoy his wonderful works of art.

Greg Bridges

Still Lives

Wet weather this morning.

The rain set early in to-night,
The sullen wind was soon awake,
It tore the elm-tops down for spite,
And did its worst to vex the lake:

From Robert Browning's Porphyria's Lover a super Halloweenish poem in which a loon decides that even the weather has it in for him........



Windowsill, basil, rosemary, pumpkin, seashells.
Plate from Zagora. Embroidery from the East.



Fiesta squash, winesap apples, bowl from Marrakesh, English ironstone plate.
I have borrowed a camera which can do close-ups.
Now I'm really looking forward to Christmas.