The Weekend Roundup, 'G'

It is a humid Friday in CT, and since it's Friday, time again for Tom's fun photo meme, The Weekend Roundup. Today's letter prompted a look through the archives...

Starts with 'G'. This is Patti's mom as a Grandmother to her Grandkids, Cam (almost 4) and Allegra (almost 6). Taken in 1994, all look happy :) 

Does anyone remember the AMC Gremlin? These pics were taken in March 1978 at the family's East Hartford CT domicile. The car was a 1974 in copper with Gold stripes. Kinda clunky, but the 232 six and TorqueFlite automatic were great. I also like the 1960-70s neighborhood vibe! 

I think that Stained Glass works too. These windows date back to about 1900 and are in the First Congregational Church in Derby, CT.

Favorite. Patti captured this bluejay this morning apparently getting out of the sun in the forsythia. We have a lot of these lovely (if screechy) birds in our yard. Happy weekend to all!

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 'E'

It's Friday and Tom's fun meme The Weekend Roundup is back. Onward to this week's prompts...

Starts with 'E'. I'll go with Eggs (Eggland's Best brand, hence the stamp :) and an Egg dish, a frittata we made awhile back with peppers, onions, tomatoes, potatoes, cream and mozzarella. A tasty 'E'!

Then there is East Hartford, Connecticut - where I grew up. This is Easter Sunday 1964 in front of our Wickham Drive home. I'm the only boy here...

And how about Equestrian? This old print was taken at the 1984 Olympics at Santa Anita Park in the foothills above Los Angeles. The horses were beautiful, all mostly chestnut, some with braided manes. 

A Favorite. The always lovely Patti places eggshells outside for the Blue Jays as we understand they like the shells. Here, she captured one lucky bird! 

Evening. The moon arises on Winter's evening over our neighbor's roof. A very cold eve but a beautiful sky.

Friday Hunt, 2017.1.14

Where'd the week go? The always lovely Patti and I had this odd flu/cold combo that occupied the past seven days. Luckily, I am feeling much better this Friday, perfect for participating in this week's Friday Hunt. Here are my contributions to today's fun meme...

Starts with 'N'. I choose three looks at our neighbor state of New York - and the city of the same name, a place I like to visit on occasion, but prefer the slightly quieter Connecticut suburb in which we live :)

First is entering the Empire State on the Hutchinson River Parkway South. Yes, that is a plush bear sitting on the dashboard with a panoramic view of the road

Next is a look at the skyline of The City, Manhattan (the other four Boroughs of the city, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island, all agree that Manhattan is The City of New York). I believe this is Easter Sunday 1961 with my father  and his sister (aka: Aunt Terry) on a roof surrounded by the always impressive skyline

Here is another look at the NYC skyline, much newer, taken from the Brooklyn side on a day where the snow ended and the sun is trying to break through

Week's Favorite and Blue. Both are favorites and both are blue. So...let's look at the sunset sky after a day of driving rain and wind. Or the Blue Jay stalking around the forsythia. Both are perfect in either category so I'll use both. Thanks again Teresa!

Friday Hunt, 2017.1.11

Happy St. Patricks Day - we had a pizza for dinner (corned beef on Sunday). Friday returns, as does Teresa's fun meme, Friday Hunt. She gives us the clues, and following are mine:

Starts with 'K'. I choose Kids, our two, Allegra and Cameron. To the left is the first day of school 1998, fifth and third grade. To the right, now grown at a family wedding in 2015. New dress, new suit and tie and we can tell they're not in grade school anymore...

Week's Favorite. Patti again is the source for the favorite as she chases through the patio door cardinals and blue jays, this jay taken yesterday. Instead of the normal squawking and aggressive blue jay, her is a more dignified bird. Until he/she isn't...

Drink. Here is a Cosmopolitan ordered by a family member in a cool glass at a now defunct Ansonia restaurant. Nice color and stylish presentation. Of course, there is a glass of water nearby to quench thirst in a not so stylish glass. Hydration is the key!

Friday Hunt, 2017.1.6

The weekend begins and we are ready for Teresa's fun photo meme Friday Hunt is here. Without further ado, we begin:

Starts with 'F'. The first is a look at my second wheelchair van, a 1998 Ford E150. I drove it from 1998 to 2010, sold at about 160,000 miles (255,000 km); here is at our motel on Cape Cod

Another 'F' is a few inches (or a few cm) of snow at the beginning of Thursday's blizzard. We actually ended up with over a foot of snow by the evening.

The final 'F' sands for Family, this being all seven Villers kids on the famed Boardwalk in Atlantic City, I believe August 1969. I suppose at 14, I look positively thrilled at posing for a photo...

Week's Favorite. Patti captured this elusive blue jay as he/she huddles under the forsythia during Thursday's snowstorm

Heart. This heart contains 'Hello' an lots of languages at Irving School in neighboring Derby. This was the lesson students learned this week during Derby public schools and nationwide’ “Start with Hello” initiative; its goal is awareness of social isolation and the need to eliminate it. Thanks Teresa!