let the sun shrine in

forgive me. i know not what I say.

one of our dog walks takes us past a house here in Bay Ridge with some very interesting elements...today...The Shrine to Atlas. more to come.

def click on image for more detail.

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regrets...I've had a few...

like STILL not making it to Brooklyn Botanic Garden to photograph the cherry trees...and after this weekend (and today's) rain, I bet they ALL look like this!

the moral of this story is, "he who hesitates, photographs petals on the ground."

taken w my cell phone on 82nd St, Bay Ridge

they grows'em big in brooklyn

I got back to the Narrows Botanical Garden this afternoon...there were some charming tulip displays, and the roses look prematurely ready to do something...and there was cactus! But today what I found most fun were these giant metal butterflies...dancing in the air, backlit by the sunset over the _____ (whatever that water out there is called). I'll keep checking back as different things should be coming into bloom...

botanical garden? not so much.

tonight we drove over to shore rd, to look for the Narrows Botanical Garden. We walked and walked and walked...made the hairpin turn right before the Verrazano Bridge...and walked some more. I THOUGHT the gardens were up at that end! I was SURE they were! We walked and walked. Past busses and empty lots and tennis courts and fallen trees and playgrounds and lawns. The closest thing I saw to a "garden" was these little clumps of daffodils on a hillside.

not EXACTLY the stuff that botanical gardens are made of  :-(  We kep walking...down, down down....seemed so nice...til I realized D'OH!!! EVENTUALLY we're gonna have to go back UP! We finally got to this LONNNNNNNG staircase curving back up to Shore Rd. I will forever think of it as Heart Attack Hill. The whole way up I was realizing I have STILL not made myself an emergency ID card to carry around...and I was hoping Caleb was clever enough that when I collapsed, clutching my chest, he would know to get the cell phone out of my back pocket and call 911.

Fortunately it didn't come to that. But I got to the top and realized I should have taken a picture of the staircase from the bottom...but there was No Way I was going back down for a picture - just to come back UP again. Sorry, I love taking pictures, but I'm not dying for my art. Not today.

PS - when I got home I looked up the Narrows Botanical Garden, and I was TOTALLY in the wrong spot! I'll save that for another day.

little cupcake ~ FINALLY

I've been waiting FIVE MONTHS to go to Little Cupcake in Bay Ridge w my daughter. FINALLY, yesterday, we got there. It was charming...and PACKED. She had a peanut butter cupake - why - and I had coconut. Honestly, the cupcake itself was a smidge, uhm, not that moist. The frosting was AWESOME. I'll certainly give it another try. I can sometimes forego a little on the food itself, for a charming atmosphere, and it certainly has that.

PS - the photo is a rare look at Yours Truly

3rd Ave, Bay Ridge

happy presidents day.

driving around brooklyn this past month... I saw lots of valentine's decorations...as this weekend got closer, I saw some signs of the upcoming chinese new year...but this window is the one and only nod I've seen to Presidents Day.

bay ridge parkway, bay ridge, brooklyn

click on images for more detail

yeah, I don't really think i'd want to work here....

86th St., Bay Ridge

the party's over

Christmas is over for another year...today was rainy, windy, and grey - my favorite kind of day for staying inside and working on indoor projects. I spent a couple hours re-organizing the bedroom and closet - when I first moved in here, I unpacked quickly and just stuck stuff anywhere to get the boxes out. And while I was productive, after 4 days without a car, I'm starting to feel a little trapped! I know people live in the city all their lives and never have a car, but they know how to do that! I'm clueless about the subways! One of my goals for this vacation week is to get on the subway and go into the city...just to get my feet wet. In the meantime, in the rain and small apartment, I'm feeling a little like a prisoner in my own home....not unlike this glittery guy behind bars...

merry christmas

I love the crazy overdecorated houses....but my favorites are the traditional homes w classic decorations...

83rd St, Bay Ridge

Miracle on 67th St

Tireshop Santa. 67th & 5th, Bay Ridge.

feeling blue??

caleb and I went out for a wander this evening and ended up blocks and blocks away from home! trust me, I am *not* a walker, so for *me* to get so far from home without realizing it, you KNOW I am captivated by what I see!

mad lights. mad. this is bay ridge.