Upstairs Downstairs

Years ago, there was a popular Masterpiece Theatre series called Upstairs, Downstairs, examining the lives of the British upper class (who lived upstairs) and their servants (who lived downstairs). The popularity of that series inspired more recent series on this subject, including Downton Abbey. Those of us who had young children in the 1970s or […]

Sunday Stills: Getting It Straight

Terri Webster Schrandt has a Sunday photo challenge, Sunday Stills. The theme this week is straight. Apartment building (Woodstock, IL) Here’s a place I’ve really been missing the last few months – the library! (Des Plaines, IL) Under these floor tiles, several hundred people were buried during the Middle Ages! (Oude Kerk, Amsterdam) Bridges: Pegasus […]

Tuesday Photo Challenge & CFFC: Eye Candy

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week begins a series exploring the five senses. This week is sight. She says: As the saying goes, a picture worth a thousand words. Think of photos you can take or have already taken that remind you of a fabulous sight. I like to call it “Eye Candy”. Several of the […]

April Squares Day 19: Spires & an Un-Spire

HURRAY! I am back on my blog after being AWOL for two days! I had technical difficulties and it took the computer tech more than 24 hours to fix it. So I am at the TOP of my world! Oh, speaking of top… I’ve missed a few days of Becky’s April Squares with the topic […]

April Square Tops: Cathedral Spires

These photos are the very top of spires of the famous cathedral in Köln (Cologne), Germany. Look at the ladder going up to the top of this other spire!! Would you climb up there? Not me!! #SquareTops challenge, 4/12/20

April Square Tops: Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Since it is Good Friday, I thought this “top” would be appropriate – it is the dome inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, which was built on what is believed to be the site of both the crucifixion and the tomb where Jesus was buried. The church as it stands today is […]

Thursday Doors: Church of the Nativity

While I’m stuck at home, I’m making a photo book on Shutterfly of our trip to Israel last year. Going through the photos, I noticed some interesting doors I don’t think I’ve posted before, like these in Bethlehem at the Church of the Nativity. So I will tell the story of our visit forNorm’s Thursday […]

Monday Window: Dominus Flevit Church

(Visited January 13, 2019) This little “teardrop” Catholic church outside the walls of Old Jerusalem is called Dominus Flevit, which means “The Lord Weeps,” representing Jesus weeping about the future destruction of Jerusalem. Here is the same window from the inside, framing old Jerusalem with the Golden Dome as a recognizable landmark. The church is […]

Pull Up a Seat Challenge

I have not participated in XingfuMama’s Pull Up a Seat Photo Challenge in awhile. So here goes! At holiday light show, Lightscape, Chicago Botanic Gardens Glass sculptures made by schoolchildren, Museum of Glass, Tacoma, WA The following three are miniatures, from Whimsical Wonderland, an annual display/fair/competition of miniatures. Choir seat, with unique carving (you’d pull […]

Melk Abbey and Town

July 5, 2019 Today we docked at Melk, a town on the Danube known for its abbey, which sits on a cliff overlooking the town. A bus drove us up the hill to tour the abbey. The Benedictine abbey was founded in 1089. A monastic school was established in the 12th century and the library […]