Boiler House

This house has the boiler and electrical equipment etc for the Ford House--and an underground tunnel to get back and forth in inclement weather.

We are on the road, in Syracuse New York, a day's drive (in good weather) from home. It's snowing. But we're not headed home for several days.

We wish you a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! Be safe and healthy--I hope you have the best year yet!!

"The Back 40"

This "Island" (Really a peninsula) belongs to the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House and is a pleasant place to stroll.

The sign goes with the house but is in an awkward place to read it.

Edsel and Elenor Ford House

It's so big that it's hard to get far enough away to get it all in!

We are in Syracuse, NY. I will always have access to the internet. We're here visiting my daughters and friends for the holidays. I will probably post every day but may not be able to comment--I will catch up when we get home.

The Edsel and Eleanor Ford House Across a bay of Lake St. Clair

The beautiful Stone Mansion in the dull winter light. Cotswald Cottage.

The first Ice fisherman

This is the first and only ice-fisherman we've seen yet this year--taken from The Edsel and Eleanor Ford House. It was taken with a little point and shoot which I'm having a little problem with. Taken from Shore!

More Pewabic Pottery

These were taken at the Pewabic Pottery store on Jefferson.To see more, click on the Pewabic label link below.

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas if you celebrate, and if not, have a wonderful day of your own choosing.

Here is our Christmas card--the one I made to send this year, with our holiday wishes for you, and some local Christmas decorations. I painted the Christmas card with watercolors.

Merry Christmas!!!

We wish you a Merry Christmas or happy holidays. That's us, in 2005 when Piano Boy was more cuddly. None of us are as cute this year!

Holiday Decorations at the Mall

I hope you are having a happy, healthy holiday season! We're spending more time at the mall than normal (and more time than we'd prefer!) Here are a few decorations from two local malls, one at the St. John Hospital and one off Vernier. (I don't know the names of either mall--duh--I'm not a mall person, normally.)

This is not my idea of pretty, charming, or artistic decorations, but it's what I'm doomed to view while shopping at the mall. The first elves are sort of cute.

When I was a kid, I always thought the big presents under the tree were real gifts, they were so big I thought they were really special--and I wanted them.

Pewabic Pottery

Pewabic Pottery is a great place for gifts! You can buy tiles, plates, mugs etc, all very pretty and locally well-known.

The bald and barefoot Santa

Every year, this Santa stands outside our local lock shop--sometimes with and sometimes without a hat and beard.

The Beach at Pier Park in December

LOL! I know this is a cliche, because I take it every year. I can't help it--the abandoned beach, the frozen water, the barren sand, the icy shore. It speaks to me. (I think it's whispering "Florida, Florida"--or--"St. John St John." LOL! :-D

Sunrise over lake St. Clair

Taken from Pier Park just before the sun rose, looking out from shore over Lake St. Clair.

Dawn at Pier Park

I had the good fortune (or the bad fortune, depending on how you look at it), to be at Pier Park at dawn yesterday. These pictures are in reverse chronological order. Lake St. Clair is partly frozen, all along the bays and edges. In the last one, you can see the edge of the ice.

Seasonal changes

1)The old horse stables on Belle Isle, now used for maintenance, at night. With snow!
2)Garbage cans at Pier Park, collected from the picnic area for the winter
3)the "last leaf" in the storm sewer

Please Touch at the DIA

"Please do not touch the artwork"--except this piece. You can see what thousands of soft fingertips have done to the sculpture. DIA (Detroit Institute of Arts.)

Horace H. Rackham Educational Memorial

This building is located across from the DIA. Rackham was the first president of the Detroit Zoo.

Ruben's Hygeia at the DIA

The DIA has a wonderful collection of art. I love this piece, Ruben's Hygeia.

I am totally out of space for photos. I may not be able to blog any more. I deleted a whole blog and it only gave me a few more photos, not nearly as many as I'd deleted (They may have been smaller.)

Detail Diego Rivera Mural, DIA

Here's a detail from the Diego Rivera Mural at the DIA. We are reading Barbara Kingsolver's Lacuna, so we really enjoyed re-examining all the Diego Rivera stuff. If you click here, you can see soem other Diego Rivera/DIA posts from previous visits. One had a picture almost exactly like this one--I didn't realize I'd taken nearly an identical picture--twice! But this one is new from Avedon/WPA visit.

Inside the DIA

A shot inside the DIA (Detroit Institute of Arts). Vogon Poet tells me: The statue is 'Zephyr Dancing with Flora' by Gianmaria Benzoni and the painting is the 'Betrothal of Cupid and Psyche' by Pelagio Palagi. Thank you! (I'm embarrassed to have forgotten!)

Avedon at The DIA

We woke up to sudden cold, snow and wind, ten degree (F) and very bitter!

We went to the DIA (Detroit Institute of Arts) to see the Avedon
Fashion Photography Exhibit and the WPA Prints and whatever else we
had time for--and to have a lovely lunch. They did not allow
photography in the exhibit. :-(

The "floral display" was right outside the Avedon exhibit.

And, here is my latest art piece. I may use it for my Christmas card, half of it, that is. You can click here if you would like to see it bigger.

Did you notice I am back to small pictures? They all will get a LITTLE bigger if you click on them. I have used up my maximum number of photos in Picasa that supports the photos in this blog. I deleted a whole blog today, and all its photos, which is why I am late posting. It turned into a huge "ordeal!" I may have to give up blogging! :-(

Detroit in December!

These were taken right down the street from my house a couple days ago. Of course, flowering pears are aliens, so they do not respond to the climate cues as well as native trees. But meanwhile, it's been so cold, probably the leaves are mostly fallen now. The poinsettias are at our local florist, just down the street. That shot was taken at night.

I'm afraid our long warmish fall is over and winter is here to stay--we're supposed to get two inches of snow tomorrow.

And below is my latest art piece (click to view it larger):

Holiday Lights

Lights on the side of a neighbor's house. If you look closely, you can see the bricks of the house and the branches of their tree.

and here's my newest art piece, which you can click to enbiggen if interested. I drew it from a photo I took at the Renaissance Festival.

More Pewabic Pottery at the Zoo

Here's another piece made of Pewabic Pottery found at the Detroit Zoo.

The swan was RIGHT outside the window of the Amphibian House. I think BB took the picture of the swan.


and, here is my latest artpiece, "In Flander's Fields," which, if interested, you can click to enbiggen.

Pewabic Pottery at the Zoo

In the entryway of the Amphibian House at the Detroit Zoo is a mural made of tiels from Pewabic Pottery, a well-known local ceramics art institute.



This is a detail of my latest art piece done in a Moleskine Sketchbook for a sketchbook exchange group I belong to.



And 4 more new art pieces and a brand new fractal by Detroit artist (me).

The COLD had finally caught up with us! Brrrr!