Glass Harmonica on Mechanic



Glass Harmonica

One of my joys at the yearly Dickens on the Strand is waking to the sounds of the festival. Our standing room at the Tremont opens directly onto Mechanic street; and for the past few years overlooks this fine young man and his instrument. This is Donal Hinely, a critically acclaimed singer/songwriter and master of the Glass Harmonica, a duty he took over with the untimely death of his elder brother, Terry (RIP!). Donal provides for me each year the most wonderous of morning alarms with the crystal clear tones of his music.

~KR (day thirty-three — 3 December, 2006)

Camera: Canon PowerShot S1 IS
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/1000)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 58 mm
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire




Marita Beth gets ready for dinner



Getting Ready

The Victorian woman couldn’t be bothered to leave the house without hair covering or at least adornment. Marita Beth is a Victorian Woman through-and-through.  We were just getting ready for dinner; I’d already re-dressed in my evening wear and was waiting patiently for the ladies when MB decided she just couldn’t leave without the hair ornaments (baby’s breath and a rose in this case). Dinner was at Fisherman’s Wharf and predictably poor. The quality of the dinner has been steadily declining over the past 3 or possibly 4 years; it’s time for a new venue, I think.

 ~KR (day thirth-two — 2 December, 2006)

Camera: Canon PowerShot S1 IS
Exposure: 0.25 sec (1/4)
Aperture: f/3.2
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
Exposure Bias: 2 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire




Pope Joan at Dickens



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Once a year we pigrimage to Galveston, TX for the Galveston Dickens on the Strand festival. It’s an extravagant, posh event that we save and plan for all year. This year Marita Beth received a package at the Tremont House Historic Hotel very soon after we’d arrived. She immediately handed the package to me with a “Merry Christmas, Happy Anniversary, Happy Birthday &c.” message. Inside was this fantastic Pope Joan (also known as Michigan, Poch & Newmarket) bowl. I’d seen this item on eBay sometime back and even bid on it, but ultimately couldn’t afford its asking price. I’m not sure what deal Marita Beth struck with the seller, but I now own this bowl and couldn’t be more happy with it. Thank you! Now if I could just find some more (less expensive) that I could sell through East Wind Games.

~KR (day thirty-one – 1 December 2006)

Camera: Canon PowerShot S1 IS
Exposure: 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture: f/3.1
Focal Length: 9.3 mm
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash fired, auto mode, red-eye reduction




Sunflowers in November



Sunflowers on 30 November

Sunflowers on November 30, 2006. You can see the grey background, but what you cannot see is the amount of sleet, snow & freezing rain that those clouds would bring about four hours after I took this photo. I’ve not paid particular attention, but I would hazard to guess that these hardy flowers did not survive that winter blast.

~KR (day thirty – 30 November, 2006)




Blue Mesa Cafe



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Sometimes you just cannot do anything with a photo. I took three photos on the 29th with this being the best of the batch, sadly. It was a long day at work followed by the annual Christmas Party held at the Blue Mesa Cafe. I arrived just a few minutes before my ticket did, so I tried to take some pictures as I whiled away the time. But the Blue Norther’ that was blowing through, in combination with my desire to not have the flash fire (it’s a weak flash and I don’t generally care for the outcome) resulted in a poor selection of images from which to choose.

~KR (day twenty-nine – 29 November 2006)
Camera: Canon PowerShot S1 IS
Exposure: 0.5 sec (1/2)
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 52.6 mm
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire




Our Beautiful Ginger



Our Beautiful Ginger

3 December 2006

We didn’t need to see her photo on the cover of the newspaper to know how lovely she is.

I took this photo of Ginger when she sat down beside me at dinner Sunday night at Willie G’s in Galveston.  She looked amazing, and the light in the restaurant accentuated the positive.

Ginger, more beloved by both myself and Kyle, than she could possibly know– has been a part of our lives for a dozen years.  It seems like forever, though–that’s the way it is when you know someone so well and you know this isn’t your first lifetime together.  We love you, Ginger.

~MB




Galveston News



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2 December 2006

The light was fabulous when I took this photo.  Too bad the photographer wasn’t!

This is the building I feel so connected to–The Galveston News Building.  Currently, it houses an overflow of antiques from the store next door, and a number of finished, and rented apartments upstairs.  According to the man I spoke to there this weekend, perhaps next year, the ground floor will be the site of a restaurant.  <sigh> 

More later . . .

~MB




Gingerbread Ball



Gingerbread Ball

1 December 2006

The Fourth Annual Gingerbread Ball and Feast was held this evening at the historic Tremont Hotel on Galveston Island.  Despite a few little glitches, the evening was an enjoyable success. 

 Our group was a little bit smaller this year, but every bit as much fun as always.  Kelly had a fabulous new dress.  Marita Beth, however, did not!  Perhaps celebrating the tenth season for the red gown will help motivate me to get my act in gear and make one of the gowns currently floating around in my head.  I would so love to have something new.

~MB




Galveston, Ho!



Galveston, Ho!

30 November 2006

Almost there!  We’d been on the road toward Galveston all afternoon, by the time I snapped this photo.  The drive began in the most incredible sleet storm I’ve seen in years!  The little balls of sleet looked like the weird styrofoam they sometimes pack into beanbags or those odd little pillows.  They were actually round and would not melt on contact.  As we were packing the last of the weekend’s stuff, we had to keep brushing the little ice balls off the car seats–it was strange!  Kyle said it’s typical of Texas sleet, but it seemed odd to this little New Yorker. 

We dealt with the falling ice pellets for about an hour, then gusts of wind that nearly blew us of the road and made us glad for every bit of ballast we were carrying!   By the time we reached Fairfield (our halfway mark for TRF, but not for Galveston!) the weather had cleared and the roads were dry.  We lunched in Madisonville where Ginger and Mary (I mean Prudence–or was it Frances?) met us at the Subway and then continued south, stopping in Clear Lake for some last minute supplies from the local Mart-de-Wal.  We arrived in Galveston, got moved into our room at the Tremont, and then went for a fabulous dinner at a place just a few blocks’ walk from here–Paco’s.  It came highly recommended by the desk clerk at the hotel, and we were not to be disappointed.  Their kitchen closes at 9:30 p.m. but they somewhat happily seated us at 9:05.  Our service was superb and our food was even better!  We all vowed we’d be back–maybe as early as Monday for lunch!  Dinner was followed by a few hands of Mah Jongg, and I actually withdrew from the game first, due to heavy eyelid syndrome.  Of course, that was over an hour ago, and I’m still up! 

Anyway, during the drive through Houston, I had the camera out and was taking pictures of the amazing sunset–totally Maxfield Parrish–when I conceived the idea of shooting the highway sign reading “Galveston” for my photo of the day.  Some of the sunset photos are really pretty, but this is the photo I had in my head!  I love it when that works out so well!

I am impressed that the sign came out so clearly, when the tail lights and other things in the photo are so blurry.  It looks totally cool, but I really am not sure how I got so lucky!  If I could, I’d eliminate the reflection of the teddy bear–but in reality, he’s part of the experience, so I guess he deserves to be a part of the photo!

So, it’s Dickens on the Strand for us this weekend!  We’re in Galveston, now, as I write this, and we’re looking forward to a wonderful weekend.  I’ve got fourteen more buttons to sew on trousers for braces, and then I’m totally done!  I’m pretty tired now, though.  The buttons may simply have to wait until tomorrow!

~MB




Basketweave



Basketweave

29 November 2006

Basketweaving–the term conjures up images of easy college courses designed just to fulfill requirements, when actually it’s an amazing art!  I think I probably have a bit of a basket fetish–I own more baskets than I ought to, that’s for sure.  But, they are beautiful and useful.  And, they are the epitome of texture, texture, texture.  And in this photo, I really like the light shining through the weave.

The most remarkable thing about this photo, however, is that I had time to take it!  It’s Dickens Eve for us–we leave tomorrow for our big weekend in Galveston.  For most of the eleven years we’ve been attending this event, this evening would be an endless night of sewing–racing against the clock, pushing every deadline.  One year I made three ladies’ outfits and thirteen waistcoats!  One year we had a sweat shop in our hotel room with three sewing machines, two ironing boards, and a worker bee not only at each of those stations, but two people pinning things together as well!  It was awful!  And it was a turning point.  I swore never again would my holiday weekend be like that.

Ever since that year, my deadlines have been met earlier; my workload has been better planned, and my procrastinating tendencies have lessened a bit.  This year, I had a few additional projects I could have tackled, not the least of which is any one of the four new outfits I have planned for myself.  But, as it was, I promised very little, and I exceeded my own expectations!  The truck is mostly packed and ready to go, and I am basically stress-free. 

So, I’ll celebrate the tenth season with the same pretty red dress.  And I have time to contemplate basketweaving.

~MB