Summer Storm

A few months ago while I was at work, this storm was going by:



A friend and I went out for a smoke break -- I don't smoke, I just go for the break part. This was the view to the West:



More of the view to the West:



Then the temperature dropped about 15 degrees, and it looked like this directly over our heads:



Then the clouds started swirling and we went inside:

My Cousin's House

One of my cousins up in Kalamazoo recently bought a house that was built in 1905. It's full of killer built-in cabinetry that was thankfully never painted, and there's amazing wallpaper and an incinerator in the basement.

Note: For better or whatever, these photos were all taken with my iPhone.

From my Little Brother

My younger brother, I should say; he towers above me. He lives in Baltimore and also likes to take pictures of skies. He sent me this one a few weeks ago.

Citygarden, Yesterday

I took my mom and a dear family friend down to Citygarden yesterday. It was the first day I'd seen that amazing fall-blue sky color, which made my favorite downtown building look pretty great. These were all taken with an iPhone, FYI.

Birthday Skies

On my birthday, the sky was full of the letter X. Luckily, I was able to capture them with my trusty iPhone.

8 a.m.

5 p.m. I realize it's hard to see the X, but trust me, it's there.

At the Japanese Festival

These banners depict carp, which swim upstream and therefore symbolize strength and perseverance. I'm going to need some of that on my first day back after the long holiday weekend.

As they say in Nihongo: Ganbatte, ne!

The Office: Bricks and Stone

A while back I posted about the building I work in and promised that it would be the first in a series. Welcome to the second in the series.

Back in the day, bricks were the building material of choice, and so it's impossible to escape them in my office -- even in the bathrooms. And then there are the stones that form the foundation: massive sandy-colored things that were probably shifted by teams of mules, or men.

The bricks meet stone in the basement.





Old and new bricks combine to fill arches.



A modern convenience set on a time-tested foundation.



A latch for a massive sliding door.



A wacky brick; there are heaps of these.