It was cloudy nearly the entire day, and I didn’t think there’d be much of a sunset, but it was actually very lovely. More snow is forecast for tonight, though.
Category: Photography
Snow!
The weather forecast called for snow, but I didn’t quite believe it. We’ve been lied to before, you see. Repeatedly. I was beginning to think real winter would never come. But, lo! It came, and with fluffy white snow as far as the eye can see. It really is beautiful. Even Miss Brown agrees.
Mr. Upstairs Update
I’m happy to report that Mr. Upstairs has finally achieved the next level on his favorite video game. Well, to be truthful, I’m not exactly happy to report it. It’s more like the new music accompanying this level of the game is a welcome change from the days-on-end drone of the music from the previous level. At last! Something a little different!
I can also report that he has thus far kept his New Year’s resolution to exercise daily. He’s up to 20 minutes a day on the treadmill, and has been known on occasion to break into a slow–and blessedly brief–jog. Unfortunately, the treadmill is in the second bedroom, above my studio, which is where my computer lives. Usually, I’m on the computer at about the same time the treadmill revs up. The sound of the sky falling can be a little distracting.
I still can’t figure out if he’s gainfully employed outside the house. His schedule is:
- 5am-9am News television (I’ve yet to hear him watch anything but CNN or C-SPAN)
- 9am-2pm All’s quiet (he either leaves or sleeps)
- 2pm-6pm AM talk radio (o ick, and it’s ridiculously loud)
- 7pm-8pm Plays electronic keyboard (currently he’s fond of faux harpsichord ditties)
- 8pm-9pm Exercises (including the aforementioned treadmilling, but also something involving jumping up and down on the living room floor)
- 9pm-4am Video Game-O-Rama bay-BEE!1!!!
So, you can see why I’m perplexed. Either he doesn’t sleep, or he doesn’t work. Either way, it’s only for five hours, and that ain’t natural!
Another thing that perplexes me is that I’ve come to the conclusion that there is no carpet in his apartment. At least, not in the living room and dining room. I not only hear his footsteps loud and clear, but when he wears shoes, I can hear them clattering on an obviously bare floor. The lack of carpet surely contributes to the conduction of noise to my apartment. In fact, it seems to amplify it. (Addendum: I asked my across-the-hall neighbor, who works for the property management company, and she said there is carpet upstairs. Very odd.)
Photos: Duck in Birdbath [This Mr. Upstairs Update has nothing whatsoever to do with ducks.]
Giant Hamster of DQQM
Harriet periodically walks around with things stuffed in her cheek pockets, like she’s some sort of giant hamster. Only, her red ball just doesn’t quite fit.
Morning Tea with Cartman
I can’t describe the perverse joy I feel every time I see Cartman’s boggled eyes spinning around in my microwave. It almost compensates for having to wake up. The best part is that it’s a tall, over-sized mug, so it holds a lot of tea.
Frozen
It rained so much the past week that the low lying section of the field behind my apartment flooded. Last night, it finally got cold enough for ice to form.
Arting and Dogblogging
I spent the afternoon cleaning and putting away the mess I made last week. There were scraps of paper and junk everywhere. Thankfully, I can shut the door on it when I’m fed up with it and don’t want to look at it any longer. But, since I’ve finished the Hemp Bound Journal (yay!), I really had to clear away the debris before I could start on a new project. This may be the cleanest this room ever gets, so I thought I’d take pictures before I went to work dirtying it up again.
I didn’t get much else accomplished today. I’m not quite sure where the day went. I did manage to slap a coat of gesso on a crappy old painting I found at a yard sale. I think I paid $2 for it, which, considering I don’t have to stretch or prime it, was a damned good deal. A coat of black gesso slapped on with a credit card (no brush to clean!) covered the hideous Madonna (under)painting. After that dried, I layered some dress pattern pieces, gluing them down with acrylic medium. I don’t have a specific plan for it yet (paint or oil pastels will be involved), but at this point, it kind of looks like a road atlas.
I haven’t decided what I’m going to do, journal-wise, now that I’ve finally finished the Hemp Bound Journal. I’m thinking I might tear down some black Stonehenge paper I’ve got. The surface is a little hard and slick for my taste, and I don’t like how much it buckles with wet media, but it might make a fun change from the earth tones I’ve been stuck in lately. Something more colorful would be nice, and black paper would lend itself well to gel pens. Hmmm. I think I will do that. Maybe tomorrow, even.
And now, gratuitous dogblogging:
This is an older picture that I’ve Photoshopped. It was taken last April, in the country. Harriet liked to stick her head through the holes in the livestock fence, and graze on the grass on the other side. She also would stand like that and call to the bunnies. I think she was trying to convince one to hop in her mouth. Not one of her more brilliant plans, as it turns out. Rabbits are surprisingly unreceptive to that sort of mind control.
Loreley Rock, Germany
While talking on the phone last night, I sorted another stack of collage junk. In it I found a sepia tone print that had strayed from the Germany set. Unlike the others, though, this one is not a photograph. I’m not sure what, exactly, it is, but it seems to be a lithograph made from a photo. I’m going to try to do a little more research–there’s a maker’s inscription on the recto–before I post it.
In the meantime, I found a couple more older images of the Loreley Rock. The top photo is from my collection, and the bottom two are from the Library of Congress collections.
The Loreley rock is located on Germany’s Rhine River. It was historically a treacherous spot for boats, and unsurprisingly, there is a myth connected to it. Like the Greek Sirens, the Lorelei (from luren “murmuring” and ley “rock”) was a nymph whose singing lured sailors to their deaths. The Lorelei has often been depicted in art and poetry, usually as either a beautiful, nymph-like maiden or mermaid. Her song was caused by the sound of the swirling water echoing off the rock face. Long before the Lorelei was first popularized in art and poetry, though, the rock was thought to be an oracle. Passing sailors would shout questions into the rock face, and the resulting echo would answer them back.
Title: The Lorelei Rock (Rhine)
Panora, Ltd., photographer
Panora, Ltd., copyright claimant
Date Created/Published: c1921.
Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver ; 8 x 35 in.
Summary: Man in uniform sitting on guard rail by river.
Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-126296 (b&w film copy neg.)
Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication. No renewal found in Copyright Office.
Call Number: PAN FOR GEOG – Germany no. 10 (E size) [P&P]
Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2007663190/
Sunset
Sunset Reflecting on Trees in the East
Yesterday was bright and sunny, a nice change after all the rain we’ve had. Right before the sun set, a bank of clouds rolled in from the northwest. There was a brief moment when the clouds opened, and the setting sun caught the stand of trees to the east, turning them a fiery, glowing orange color. And then, it was gone.
The sky cleared up again overnight. When Harriet and I went for our morning walk, the stars were shimmering. There was also a halo around the waning moon. Formed by hexagonal ice crystals in the upper atmosphere, such halos typically portend coming precipitation. And, what do you know? A check of the weather shows it’s supposed to rain tomorrow. And the next day, and the next day. If we’re lucky, we’ll even get a little snow on MLK day.
Altes Haus, Bacharach, Germany
The half-timbered Altes Haus (old house) is from the Medieval period. Built in 1368, it is the oldest extant building in the Rhine Valley town of Bacharach. The town itself was named after the Roman god Bacchus (who was based on the Greek god, Dionysos), so it is only fitting that the Altes Haus now houses a Weinhaus. (Literally “wine house,” a Weinhaus is a restaurant specializing in wines.)
This image is part of the set of sepia tone photos of German landmarks that I found in an old book. The photo was likely taken between 1880 and 1890, based on dates from other pictures in the group.
Title: Bacharach-Altes haus / C. Pfaff.
Date Created/Published: Heidelberg : Verlag von Edm. von König, [between 1890 and 1920]
Summary: Half-timber house, Bacharach, Germany.
Reproduction Number: LC-USZC4-2034 (color film copy transparency)
Call Number: FOREIGN GEOG FILE – Germany–Bacharach … [P&P]
Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
www.loc.gov/pictures/item/92522706/
red paper boat 
