Lamps

So. Many years ago, husband and I bought these lamps.

They are lovely, but past knowing where we bought them (someplace off Rochester Road in the North Hills of Pittsburgh) I have no knowledge of their provenance. No info on the works at all about who created them. Then there is this. I love the similarity of what lights our living room and what lights our movie screens. Here's a link to the Pixar lamp

There goes the sun

First day of fall. Cool temps, but gloomy skies in Pittsburgh after a rainy night. Last bouquet of summer (mint, calla and papyrus) is fading in my kitchen and quince fruits are ripening, but I have no idea what to do with them. Rats.

Bouquet in a crystal vase. (Katy Buchanan)

Quince from my garden.
A long time ago, I had a lipstick named "Clear Quince."
At the time, I had no idea what that meant,
but looking at the rose tint on the fruit, now, I get it.
(Also, I would never wear that color again,
lovely, but not me anymore.) (Katy Buchanan)

In the words of Charles Schulz's beloved character Linus, "Summers always fly, winters walk."

Even though the days are getting shorter (ugh, I hate when it gets dark by 4 o'clock) the light of the fading year is really pretty. Something about the way the sun's rays slant and how they bounce off those pretty red and gold leaves in the green grass. 

Only eight-ish months to go til Memorial Day.

Wonderland

So, reviewing some of my work at the Pittsburgh Post-
Gazette. What I can take credit for here is the typography and the photo illustration. The native art for this story was the geeky guy wearing VR gear from the company selling it. That was it. Thankfully, my employer had a subscription to a stock photo/image service. So it was pretty cool to meld the VR guy with the stock illustration. Also, I love stretching type. Also, credit due to  istockphoto.

Addendum to this post on 09122018; I like the art, but upon further review, the layout needs more work. That sidebar did not need such prominence, but story placement is an ongoing issue in a world where the print product is shrinking. So, my insecurities as a designer, coupled with the section editor's (imposed from above) priorities for front page story count equal .... erm ... something that could have been better. Anyway, I still like the photo illustration. If I had a do-over, the sidebar would vanish, the headline would be centered and there would be nice white space around the type of that centerpiece package. It would be a much more interesting cover.

I guess I'll just go ... crazy tonight

Weird Northeast summer in 2018.

Totally soaked in June, parched and hot in July, kind of a mix in August and now bizarro September, which has gone from a muggy 90-or-so degrees on Wednesday to  a dreary, rainy 55-or-so degrees late Saturday and early Sunday
. I hope we get golden fall with clear blue skies. Lord knows there will be more than enough grey and gloom from November through February.

Mt. Lebanon, PA, September 8, 2018

And yet, late afternoon, kids playing on the street in the downpour, yelling and shouting. 

Puts me in mind of this lovely song, featured in the 2011 movie "Bridesmaids." But this is an earlier artist, Irma Thomas

And, lastly, thinking of the people in the Caribbean islands, Puerto Rico and Houston who suffered so much at this time last year when Maria, Irma and Harvey barreled in south of here.

Coda to summer, Dormont Pool

This photo is from 2017, the Dormont Pool, Pittsburgh, PA

Didn't make it to the pool on Labor Day 2018, even though it's one of my favorite places in the world. Have been swimming there since the early 1980s when we bought our first house, in Dormont. Interesting to see how it has changed over the years. For example, now it seems lifeguards are hired outside; I don't know, but they are very professional, not high school kids sitting on tall chairs. They stand, with rescue equipment.

Dormont Pool, Sept. 2017

The diving boards are long gone, but there's a fun slide and a kind of giant mushroom thing in the kids' end that has a water spray coming out of it. There are two old, heavy turnstyles when you go in, with a check-in counter in the middle of them. $7 if you are not a resident (as I am these days). Behind that is the lifeguard’s room. Usually you can hear them chatting.

For a long time, there was a woman who swam there, older than me, who had the oddest crawl stroke. Her right arm was always fully extended, but her left never made it above water. In the winter, I would see her doing laps about the time that I did, early morning, at the South Hills JCC. Haven’t seen her in years; she seemed so dedicated. I found out at the JCC that her name was Sue, but never met her personally.

Despite the updates over the years, the women’s locker room still has that cavernous, chlorine-y, concrete-y kind of feeling. The ceiling is low. There are a few changing booths, a couple of bathroom stalls, a couple of shower stalls, a bunch of 25 cent lockers and two benches. Two sinks with raggedy mirrors. Fluorescent lighting that is not great. Almost always when I'm there are moms with kids, trying to figure out getting dressed or un. And then you walk out to the pool, through of this kind of cool, short tunnel to the main patio, with the gorgeous blue expanse of the water waiting for you.

The beach, green grass and clover, is long but not deep. There is also a second beach, which is the sloped descent into the pool, all parallel to Banksville Road (fortunately there are hedges). Lots of pool goers just park themselves on the second beach and enjoy being cool with toes and legs in the bright water. I like it for doing leg kicks after my laps are done.

One other change over the years, lots of people with tattoos. Lots.

I’m glad Dormont has been able to keep this going. Given how wet the summer of 2018 was, I’m sure the borough lost money on it.

The mural in the women's locker room at Dormont Pool was added within the past 10 years. http://friendsofdormontpool.org/

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Cat Who Won't Sit On My Lap, But Happy To Park Himself On The Sunday New York Times ... Print Edition!

Just a few words ... I love print and will never stop loving it. To those who say it is dead, I say you are not creative enough (and I am aware of the irony of making this statement in such an ethereal medium). My cat enjoys the Sunday paper, too. He is most comfortable enjoying it in his own way (that is, parking his furry behind on a four-page NYT spread for a very pricey real estate development, something RH). 

Cat who won't sit on my lap tromps on the Sunday paper.