Saturday, December 31, 2016

Shadow Shot Sunday - Family holiday


It has been a busy holiday week with new windows being installed at home and the Villers family biggest event, the Christmas Eve get together for gifts - this year at a restaurant. So looking through the photos with an eye to finding subtle shadows for Shadow Shot Sunday 2. And I found a few pics from Christmas  Eve and Day with a happy extended family and gifts - and our mighty 40in/102 cm tree...Happy New Year!

Friday, December 30, 2016

Friday Hunt-2016.2.27

It has been a busy holiday week with Christmas an new windows being installed in the same week...and I missed blogging. Happily, it is again Friday and time for Teresa's fun meme Friday Hunt. Today, the 'Starts With' is open, so I am choosing 'B' for Birthday and combining with Celebrate. The always lovely Patti shares her birthday with our Daughter Allegra, who was a week late so she could be born as the perfect present for her Mom. Nice! Here is her fifth birthday, the top pic when we invited her friends and relatives for a party and the second the immediate family party with cupcakes (12/29/1993). Today's family celebration is muted as Allegra is in Boston for a couple of days - so, cake will be served on Saturday!
The next subject is Weeks Favorite. The big all Villers holiday event is Christmas Eve, where food, kids gifts and a Yankee Swap is what makes this event. All the Villers who can attend do so. Normally the event is held at one family member's home, but this year it was held at a restaurant and we were able to get one of the kind waitstaff to stand on a chair and push the shutter button. The youngest attendee is five weeks old, the oldest...well, let's not go there :) 
Looking forward to the first Friday Hunt in 2017!

Friday, December 16, 2016

Friday Hunt 2016-2.25

It is again Friday and time for Teresa's fun photo meme, Friday Hunt. She provided the clues, we look for pics to match.

Starts with Y. I have two, the first being that odd double yolk that the always lovely Patti was making for breakfast (I don’t like fried eggs, so I passed). I recognize that ratty old non-stick skillet that lots of food stuck to…

Another ‘Y’ is Yale University in New Haven its campus about nine miles from home. Here are two residence halls at Yale, their names unknown to me. Of course, the pics were taken when it was warm out :)
Week's Favorite. Patti attended an Ansonia community forum on Tuesday at First Baptist Church a mere half-mile from home. I am most impressed with our three-term Mayor Dave Cassetti church, the biggest booster of our small city. He comfortably listens Ansonia Police Chief Kevin Hale make a point to the assembled residents. I don’t know why, I really like this natural photo!
Festive. I think a shot of our two kids on Christmas Day 1993, aged 5 and 3. Of course the children are awake pretty early on Dec 25. A wagon, Snow White, Goofy, plastic bowling and tool kit and two of the seven dwarfs. A nice view of a festive day. Thanks again Teresa!

Saturday, December 10, 2016

Shadow Shot Sunday - The ghost of Christmas Past


Well, no real ghosts, but shadowy pics from Christmas Eve past, this being 1989 with the Villers family at my sister's house for Shadow Shot Sunday 2. Our daughter Allegra tries to open a present, cousin Bobby looks resplendent in his Ghostbusters outfit and nephew Stephen feigns surprise. All leaving shadows no less...alas, they have all grown up these days, but here their shadowy past remains...

Friday, December 9, 2016

Friday Hunt 2016-2.24

Now that Friday is here, it's time again for a favorite photo meme, Friday Hunt, kindly hosted by Teresa. Now for the clues...

Starts with 'X', here a local (and loud) rock band, XYZ Revisited from nearby Seymour, playing in front of Ansonia City Hall,June 2016
Week's Favorite. On a somber day by Ansonia City Hall yesterday, the 75th anniversary of the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack was remembered. Here, two servicemen from wars past pay attention to the fallen of that day...
Lights. Here is a perfect moon over our home on a clear night captured by Patti. It stands out. Thanks again Teresa!


Monday, December 5, 2016

Wordless Wednesday - Santa Claus arrived in Ansonia

Our small city of Ansonia had its tree lighting by city hall on Friday. Not only was the evergreen lit, music was played, Santa arrived and wishes were made on a cold clear night...see more WW at NC Sue



Saturday, December 3, 2016

Shadow Shot Sunday - Nighttime Holiday Shadows

In the US, the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is a festive time with colored lights are seen all over. So for today's Shadow Shot Sunday 2, I am showcasing the scene after last night's Christmas Tree lighting at Ansonia's Veteran's Park next to city hall. After the hundreds of visitors, Santa and the children who made their wishes to him have left, we see the tree in all its glory. However, the lighting from above allows for shadows to fall from the adjacent tree, adorned with a ruby glow from the star of the park. So it is not just the brilliance of the that captures our eyes, it is too the subtle shadows that add a bit of glow on this cold windy night...

Friday, December 2, 2016

Friday Hunt 2016-2.23

Friday's return means that it is time again for Teresa's fun photo meme, Friday Hunt. These are this week's clues and my interpretation...

Begins with 'W'. The first of these is WPCA, of course meaning Water Pollution Control Authority. This is the facility in our small city (19,000) of Ansonia CT, located along the Naugatuck River
Two more are: Windows, here a bank on Main Street in downtown Ansonia and tennis being played in a Wheelchair
Week's Favorite. This is a week late, buhere is the 30th year where local dentist Dr. Bruce Sofferman and his collected frozen turkeys and non-perishable food for Spooner House in Shelton.The donned pilgrim costumes to raise awareness and received collections on a driveway along a busy commuter route
Machinery. We had a tour at Emmett O'Brien Technical High School, just around the corner from our home. This is the woodworking shop and the machinery is in the background. I understand that the computer controlled machinery was programmed to make the beautiful sign that welcomes all to the shop. Nice clues as always, Teresa!

Friday, November 25, 2016

Friday Hunt 2016-2.22

It is Friday, and time for the next installment of Friday Hunt, Teresa's fun clue meme. Here are mine for the week:

Starts with 'V'. Of course, the obvious for me is Villers. This pic was taken at a family vacation on the Jersey Shore barrier island of Brigantine, July 1969. It is the entire Villers clan at the time, from Ralph and Agnes (lower right), my father (center) and his sister, our Aunt Terry (holding baby). For my grandparents, they had only two children they had 13 grandkids (Terry's sixth was born in 1971). Cool pic and like a few weeks ago, the late '60s style is seen. I'm wearing the gold blazer - where's the chain?
Week's Favorite: Patti wrote an article for Tuesday's Valley-Voice newsletter about local sports aficionado Rich Marazzi was hosting a talk about his book about the Historic Yale Bowl. This is my fave today as we see the screen, we barely see Mr. Marazzi and we see the laptop image of the slide. I like the layered look of this presentation...
Thanks: I am very thankful for our family, the four of us together. On the left is the first day of school in 1996. Third and first grades, always good kids. Alas, they do grow up, but we were all together for Thanksgiving yesterday. Thanks to Teresa for hosting this meme too :)

Saturday, November 19, 2016

Shadow Shot Sunday - Essays




Shadow Shot Sunday 2 is here and we are going back to Monday and the Veteran's Day commemoration next to City Hall in our small city of Ansonia CT. 

Here set within the mingling of foliage and shadows are students from Ansonia Middle and Ansonia High Schools. Thoughtful and caring, there are young people who see and understand the value of service over self. It was a nice event where the community honored those who served and protected....

Friday, November 18, 2016

Friday Hunt 2016-2.21

It is the end of the week, so time again for Friday Hunt, hosted by Teresa. She provides the clues, we provide the pics...

Starts with U. There's not many pics I can find with the letter 'U' around, butfound a few that fit. I start with Saint Peter & Saint Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church in our small city of Ansonia CT, opened in 1916.
The iconic Unisphere in Queens, NY City. Captured by passenger Patti along the I-678 Whitestone Expressway (note the silhouette of the Freedom Tower to the left)
My brother and his family live in the Beehive State, Utah
Week's Favorite. our favorite small art gallery, E-Street, has a new sign created by our artist friend, Rich Di Carlo. It replaces one destroyed in a wind storm 
Wildlife. These birds were captured outside a window in February. Thanks again Teresa.

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Wordless Wednesday - Honoring Service

Last Friday in our small city of Ansonia, Veteran's Day was celebrated by city hall. The Ansonia High School chorus sang for the honored veterans - a small tribute for those who served. See more WW at NC Sue

See the small school chorus sing Battle Hymn of the Republic.


Saturday, November 12, 2016

Shadow Shot Sunday - Easter 1957

It is time again for Shadow Shot Sunday 2, and I revert to shadowy retro shots. I received these photos from Aunt Terry three weeks ago, and adds more of the story to my SSS post from August 2011. I and my sister Michele got dressed up to travel from Queens to Manhattan with Grandma (Agnes), Grandpa (Ralph) and Aunt Terry. It was the famous Easter Parade on Fifth Avenue - and a great find. Grandma and Aunt Terry are part of a parade of shadows around on April 21, 1957 at Radio City, Fifth Avenue and in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral. What a different era...