On Monday, Ludwig hosts his weekly challenge Monday Window. I looked in my archives and kept coming across window pairs. Here are a few of them, taken in Brazil, Mont St-Michel (France), Amsterdam, and Germany.
Monday Window: Windows in Pairs
Architectural Pink
Jude’s Travel Words blog’s Life in Colour challenge this month is the color pink, and this week’s focus is on pink architecture.
I found a lot of pink buildings (and other colors) in Germany, when we were on a river cruise. These three are in Bamberg.
More in Nuremburg
Here’s a lovely balcony in Regensburg.
These are in Passau.
And finally, much closer to home, is a pink painted shop in Highwood, Illinois.
Here’s the doorway:
Thursday Doors in Red
I have not participated in Thursday Doors for awhile, in spite of my passion for doors! However, due to the pandemic, I haven’t had a chance to photograph any doors. So in keeping with the (new) host Sherry, I have delved into my archives for some red doors – and I’m sure I have posted some of them in the past, but never together!
February Love Me
Yikes! I have a few days to catch up for Paula’s February Love Me challenge! Here are 3 more, in no particular order…
Feb. 6: I love…ice cream! Even though it is winter, and quite cold here, I can’t resist the temptation of ice cream once in a while!
Feb. 7: I love…art. I love to visit art museums whenever I can as well as do my own artwork! I just finished the book Frida in America by Celia Stahr, a new biography of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo focusing on her years in the United States with her husband, Diego Rivera. While reading the book, I explored her artwork on line and, although I was quite familiar with her work, I discovered a lot of her paintings I hadn’t known about before. I also love mural art wherever I find it – and usually stop what I’m doing to take a picture!
Feb. 8: I love…traveling. Anyone who reads my blog even occasionally knows how traveling is absolutely the thing I love most to do! And while traveling, I engage in one of my favorite hobbies, photography, and when I come back, I engage in another favorite activity, writing (or blogging). Below is a gallery random sample of travel photos from 2018-2019. There are no travel photos from 2020 due to not being able to travel during the pandemic! I have two international trips booked for 2022 and hopefully we can do a road trip in the fall of this year.
Tanzania safari 
Santa Fe, NM 
Bryce Canyon NP, Utah 
Luxor Temple, Egypt 
Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem, Israel 
American Cemetery, Omaha Beach, France 
Castle on the Rhine, Germany 
Stained glass window, Cologne Cathedral, Germany 
Budapest, Hungary
CFFC: Bridges
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week has the topic of Bridges.
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 later cannot have been completely ignorant of the popular children’s series Sesame Street. There was a silly series called “Monsterpiece Theatre” with a sketch entitled “Upstairs, Downstairs.” It showed the Muppet Grover climbing a staircase while a deep voice intoned, “Upstairs…” and as he went back down again said, “…Downstairs.” I think Sesame Street was made to appeal to parents as well as their children. Many of its sketches and songs have stuck in my mind to this day – and now my son is 35!
So even now, when I think about staircases, I can hear that voice in my mind, proclaiming in a serious, deep voice, “Upstairs…downstairs.”
So for Becky’s January Square photo challenge with the topic UP, here are some squares of stairs (hey, that rhymes!) going up.
State capitol, Des Moines, Iowa 
Staircase up to a girls’ school, Old Jerusalem, Israel 
Stairs to Dome of the Rock plaza, Jerusalem, Israel 
Twisty staircase at a mall, Tel Aviv, Israel 
Blue stairs, Des Plaines, Illinois 
Marskburg Castle, Germany 
Entrance to the church at our niece’s wedding, somewhere north of Tacoma, Washington 
Polar bear enclosure stairs, Brookfield Zoo, Illinois 
Numbered stairs, coliseum of ancient Roman city, Caesraea Maritima, Israel
CFFC: Vertical Challenge
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week has the theme columns and vertical lines.
Countdown 2 Xmas: Mail Toys Snow Night
I’m back at Tourmaline’s Countdown to Christmas. Let’s see, where was I?
Day 19: Mail
I almost always send holiday cards through the mail. Usually they are late, but this year I’ve mailed them all before Christmas! I order my cards from Shutterfly and couldn’t imagine what to send in this coronavirus year! The one I chose was amusing & appropriate, I thought – it just said “Well, That was CRAZY! Happy 2021 (finally)”. It included four photos, one a selfie of me and Dale in masks, one of Hazel, our cat, and two scenic. (I am unable to copy and paste it here and I used up all the cards!) I had Shutterfly print our return address on the back of the envelope, so sending them was easy! I only had to add my half-page letter, address, stamp, seal, and mail!
Day 20: Toys
Day 21: Snow
We haven’t had any (yet)! But here are some photos from last winter.
Day 22: Night
Last night, for the first time in 800 years, Saturn and Jupiter were to line up in the night sky, and we would see them as one brightish light near the horizon. We were going to go to a park after dark to look at this phenomenon, but alas! It was cloudy!
What I like about night at Christmas time is all the holiday lights that brighten up the darkness when the days are short and the sun sets before 4:30 p.m.!
CFFC & WWE: Not a Drop to Drink
The topic of Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week is water. Also, Jez’s ongoing Water, Water Everywhere.
Kinda Square 12: Faces
Here is a gallery of square photos of things that kind of look like faces. Can you see them all? Posted for Becky’s October Square 12: Kind.
