11 July 2013, The Latest Fish

There's another new fish on the 6900 block of Glenwood Ave.

 -- this one is outside the Caribbean Cuts barber shop.

18 June - 10 July 2013, Retrospective

One of the reasons i decided to take a break from this blog was that i was starting to have a little difficulty finding interesting subjects every single day. So of course, i began to see irresistible sights within hours of my last post. When i spotted the 10,000 Ripples sculpture at Morse and the lakefront, i took the picture just to add to my collection (every time i encounter one of these lovely Buddhas i photograph it). But then the next day -- the first official day of my cyber-sabbatical -- i saw a guy and his dog riding a bike on Morse Ave. and couldn't resist asking if i might take their picture. Since then, i've continued to snap away, missing only a few days; here are the results:

17 June: Morse and the lakefront

18 June: How could i resist taking a picture of this cute pup catching a ride outside MorseL?

18 June: House in bloom on Pratt Blvd.

19 June: Chestnut tree in bloom on Greenview Ave. near the Common Cup

20 June: Classic ride in a body shop on Broadway north of Granville

21 June, morning: a better view of the chestnut trees on Greenview at Farwell in full bloom.

21 June afternoon: After a brief but powerful storm blew through,
the ground was covered with chestnut blossoms.

21 June, evening: Follow Me on Fridays
Alderman Joe Moore (in the bright turquoise shirt) at the Bop N Grill
where they were serving free sample-size umami burgers -- yum!

22 June: Super-moon over Lake Michigan

24 June: Weathervane in Rogers Park

25 June: Chinatown, Philadelphia

26 June: The house where my sister and her husband raised nine children.
 I spent many Christmas mornings in this kitchen, but now it's waiting 
for a new family to move in and create their own traditions.

28 June: Pastore's Orchards in Hammonton, NJ.
One of my favorite fresh-from-the-farm produce markets. 

29 June: Atlantic City in all its glory, viewed from Absecon Inlet.
The poor little lighthouse is dwarfed by all the hotels and casinos. 

30 June: the north end of Brigantine Island, NJ.
If it weren't for the diabolical green-head flies, this would be heaven on earth. 

1 July: Pies from Penza's Pies at the Red Barn deep in the Jersey Pine Barrens

1 July: Mighty Joe's gas station in Shamong, NJ.
We didn't run into the Jersey Devil in the Pine Barrens,
but we did encounter the rudest gas station operator ever.

3 July: Old City, Philadelphia

4 July: Lancaster County, PA.
What? You were expecting a picture of flags and fireworks or something?

6 July: Rodin Museum, Philadelphia

6 July: Rodin Museum. These two young students were sketching and giggling at Rodin's "Call to Arms."
Their irreverence was refreshing. 

8 July: Harpers Ferry, WV as seen through the window of Amtrak's Capitol Limited.

9 July: Soldier sleeping on the floor of the lounge car on the Capitol Limited.

10 July: Segway tour group at the base of the statue of Abraham Lincoln
at the south end of Lincoln Park, Chicago.

17 June 2013, Toodle-oo

Dear Reader, 

This is the 377th consecutive day on which i've taken and posted at least one photograph, and now it's time for a break. This and my other blogs (Tattered Film Palace and How to Build a Substation) will be on hiatus while i go on cyber-sabbatical. I will be focusing on some real-world projects, looking at the world through a larger frame than either a camera viewfinder or computer screen, and reacquainting myself with the fine arts of reading and writing on paper. I hope to return to this and my other online projects, restored and refreshed, in about a month's time. In the meantime, i will only sporadically check the comments and read my emails, so don't be upset if your comments are not posted or your emails answered as promptly as usual. 

Now follow my lead and step away from the computer and go bask in the summer sunshine. 

New fish in town, northeast corner of Glenwood and Farwell

16 June 2013, Artists of the Wall

This weekend marks the 20th annual Artists of the Wall Festival along the lakefront in Rogers Park, and today was a perfect day for it. This press release gives some of the history behind the festival.

Two of the young artists from Kilmer School

Even the ubiquitous Grumpy Cat made an appearance 

Artists at work

Applying some finishing touches

Commentary on the dismantling of our public school system

There's nothing like some good live music on a sunny afternoon.

The Meisha Herron Band

And a bit off the beaten path, a young man strums a banjo on his porch, filling Pratt Blvd. with some fine music. 

15 June 2013, Closing Time

The end of the day at Ciao Bella Café

14 June 2013, Prairie Style

I love this old prairie-style station house, with its wide overhanging eaves.
It has been repurposed as a Starbucks.

I hopped on the Skokie Swift today and ventured out to the 'burbs in search of the perfect bagel, which i may have found at Kaufman's (although i've been advised that i should also try New York Bagels on Touhy). 

Kaufman's, where diets go to die a happy death.

13 June 2013, Old Beauty

Admittedly, i'm a little obsessed with the building at 6900 N. Sheridan Rd. and just posted pictures of it here less than two weeks ago. But it's such a grand old ruin, and i'm so curious about the renovations, that i keep returning to take more pictures of it. I just looked up a realtor's listing and discovered that it was sold at a foreclosure auction in January for $270,000; then flipped for $590,000 in March. Since it contains four apartments -- three three-bedroom units and one one-bedroom -- that's quite a deal. Well, except for the big sacks of money that will be needed to make it liveable again. I sincerely hope that the new owners will go to the extra expense of doing high-quality renovation and restoration work on this old beauty. I especially hope that the original leaded-glass windows will be preserved.

I was passing by the building a few days ago and stopped to chat with another woman who was standing outside looking at it. She told me that she knew the owners back in the 1980s and had actually been in the building. She said that the apartments were so big that you could get lost in them. Ah, if only i'd won the lottery a few months ago....