The Weekend Roundup 'J'

The weekend is here so it is time for Tom's fun meme, The Weekend Roundup. The subject letter this week took some research -  and now I am ready!

Given my heritage, there is New Jersey. more specifically, Atlantic City. This is me in 1964, and this bar reminds me of the famous SS Minnow (and I am old enough to remember that reference :) This was long before the glitzy casinos and hotels of today.

Another New Jersey 'J' is in 1969, also on the famous Boardwalk were you could rent a bicycle in the mornings. It was always a Joy to ride a bike in the briny Atlantic air!

Jewelry is on display at a local consignment shop, The Country Cottage in Seymour CT.

The final 'J' is Jaguar (car). I saw this at a local car show, the sign said 1948. I believe this is referred to as a 'drophead', what Americans call a convertible. Not only do we say it differently, I believe we drive on the wrong side of the road too :) That is me looking at this beauty...

This week's Favorite is a cardinal showing up the morning after a snowfall. Patti captured this fellow and his red plumage stands out so nicely against the Winter backdrop.

The Weekend Roundup 'F'

Tom hosts the fun meme The Weekend Roundup, and I am ready with a few blasts from the past to take cars of this week's favorite letter at least :)

Begins with 'F' starts with Family, this being the Villers family of East Hartford, CT. This I believe to be Eater Sunday 1969 with all seven children. (one more since 1964 and last week's post there were only six). Note the late '60s hair and with my gold blazer and turtleneck...where's the chain?

Then there is a Field where I stand in 1983. Guess where the field is? It is in Fargo North Dakota!

Another 'F' is Flat. The day was July 30, 1983, the place is the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport, the flat are the two tires on the starboard side of a United Airlines 737 from Chicago. The flat occurred upon landing at MSP. I captured this as we awaited the bus...It just felt like a flat tire on your vehicle  

Finally there is Ford, this being another view of my Ford E-150 van that I had from 1998-2010. It was a great vehicle but really big and used a lot of gas. I donated it with 158,000 miles (254,000 km). It had at least another 100K miles of life in it, a very durable vehicle indeed...

Flower. Here is a flower (weed) growing through a rock. quite a feat I'd say! This is at the Savin Rock by Long island Sound in West Haven, CT.

Favorite. The always lovely Patti captured tis Blue Jay taking off from the roof. 'I'm outta here' he seems to say! Have a great week!

The Weekend Roundup...A

This is the first installment in a new weekly photo meme, The Weekend Roundup, hosted by Tom. Onward... 

My birthplace was Atlantic City, NJ. That qualifies as an 'A'. Grandpa poses by the famous Boardwalk in front of the old Traymore Hotel in 1956.

More Atlantic City, the family rides bicycles on the Boardwalk. July, 1969

Animals start with 'A'. And as a cat, Linus McDonald qualifies. Naturally, he is asleep :)

We live in Ansonia, Connecticut; our domicile is a nice example of the first letter

Finally, our daughter is named Allegra. She's in the photo - somewhere. Happy New Year!

Friday Hunt 2017.2.1

It is Friday and time for the second installment for the year of the fun meme Friday Hunt, hosted by Teresa. And away we go...

Begins with 'A'. I think back to family vacations along the New Jersey shore at Atlantic City. I looked through my photo archives through four decades, so am using these for this week's favorite letter.

1965, the Villers kids & Dad riding on the boardwalk

1956. Grandpa in front of the long gone Traymore Hotel

1969, Grandpa & Aunt Terry, again in front of the Traymore

1978, Grandma Agnes (another 'A') in front of the first casino in AC

Sunset. From November 1981, the setting sun along the Mass. Turnpike near Worcester from the passenger seat of a Subaru. The old print held up well...

Inside. the time was the summer of 2003, inside our living room and our (hi-tech) computer of the day. Not blazing fast but safely inside and away from the elements. Thanks Teresa!

Friday Hunt, 2017.1.10

With an Arctic front now enveloping the Northeast USA, it is again time for Teresa's fun photo meme, Friday Hunt. Today the tenth letter of the alphabet is prominent...

Starts with 'J'. This is a bit harder to showcase straight up, but peripherally I think so. So, my choice today is the Garden State, New Jersey. I go way back for my first three Jersey pics, vacations on the Atlantic on the barrier island of Brigantine - in a day where lots of independent motels existed, not like today where everything is a time share. However, the briny air and crashing waves still remain to this day :)

Brigantine NJ, 1968

The entire family by Brigantine Beach NJ, 1969

When there were five kids, with Aunt Terry in the surf, Brigantine NJ, 1961

Week's Favorite. Patti captured this moonrise about four hours ago outside our front door in Ansonia. The snow ended, the cold front is here and the sky is perfect to see the moon in all its glory

Birds. This is the scene on Pickett's Pond at Osbornedale State Park in Derby yesterday, when it was a warm 61°F (16°C) - figure 15°F tonight. The gulls look relaxed then, probablynot so much with ice on the pond. So, Winter remains :(

Shadow Shot Sunday - Vintage Seaside Shadows

Winter in New England can be stylish (see: freshly fallen snow), yet cold and when a seasonal 'warm' day might be 40°F (4.5°C) it is still a cold day. So for warmth, Shadow Shot Sunday 2 is graced with a pic from over 47 years ago for a complete Villers family shoot along the New Jersey barrier island shore town of Brigantine. Subtle shadows exist all around and take a look at the styles from 1969 (note my gold blazer and turtleneck sans a chain). Retro, stylish and shadowy, it looks warm at least...

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 :)

Friday Hunt 2016-2.19

I am glad to be back for a fun meme, Friday Hunt. I missed last week due to the second Airhead Blogger going wonky, just like the first Blogger blog. Foolishly, perhaps, I am going to try the same platform again. Free is never really free, of course. 

So, for the week of November 4th, I offer my pics for this week’s theme…

Starts with ’S’: I have two pics with a few, the top is Siblings, the seven Villers Kids on Easter Sunday 1969, East Hartford, CT.  Nothing says the late 1960s better than clothing and hair of the day

Seymour CT starts with S as does the renovated Strand Theater at June's Founders Day

Week's Favorite: Patti captured the beautiful foliage and reflections at the Witek Park reservoir in Derby, CT

Amazing: The basketball appears to be suspended in mid-air. Defying gravity is amazing. Thanks Teresa!