Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Windows

My window of opportunity for participating in Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week may well be rapidly closing, but if I hurry I may just make it.  For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to https://ceenphotography.com/2016/11/22/cees-fun-foto-challenge-windows/

Some fancy windows at the Pui Tak Center in Chinatown, Chicago.

Imagine what it must have been like for the seventy-odd people who, at one time or another, looked anxiously out through the windows of the Apple River Fort in Elizabeth, Illinois, during the Black Hawk War in 1832.  The settlers survived the attack by two hundred warriors thanks in part to the sturdy construction of the long-vanished fort.  The fort has been reconstructed as is now open to the public.

Some of the beautiful stained-glass windows that were on display at the Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows on Navy Pier in Chicago.  Sadly the museum was closed when the pier was renovated this year.

Sometimes it’s what’s in and around the window that makes it interesting.  A window at the Taylor House in Freeport and an antique shop in Long Grove, Illinois.

Some well-weathered windows at the Mayslake Peabody Estate in Oak Brook, Illinois.

Happy Thanksgiving

There may possibly be a few tense moments over the turkey this year but let’s hope we can just enjoy being with our loved ones and make the most of every moment.  I have so many things for which to be thankful, not the least of which is the pleasure of your company, and I want to thank you all for joining me here and at my other blogs. I really appreciate all your ‘likes’ and kind comments.   Wishing you a very Happy, Healthy and Peaceful Thanksgiving.

Cee’s Odd Ball Photo Challenge – Boots

This is the first time I’ve entered a picture in Cee’s Odd Ball Photo Challenge.  Goodness knows I’ve got plenty them (Odd Ball pictures, that is.)  Take these boots for example.  I was walking through the parking lot of our local grocery store the other day and saw a pair of boots, all covered in tar, sitting on the back of a truck.  These boots had character! They were hard working boots and deserved to be recognized so I whipped out the phone and took a couple of shots.   But when I downloaded them I thought, “Now what am I going to do with them?”  And here we have the perfect opportunity to share.  For more on Cee’s Odd Ball Photo Challenge go to https://ceenphotography.com/2016/11/18/cees-odd-ball-photo-challenge-2016-week-46/

Weekly Photo Challenge – Magic

Seeing the world through a child’s eyes can very often help us to appreciate the magic in the little things in life. I know my grandchildren have given me a whole new perspective on things.

The magic of butterflies.  Watching this amazing thing of beauty flutter its wings and take its first flight.  Keep very still little brother and perhaps it will rest on your shoulder.

The magic of flowers.  Who knew there were so many lovely colors and cool smells! I wonder if there are any fairies at the bottom of this garden.

The magic of exploration. Which way shall we go?  It’s a big world out there and who knows what we might find!  A magic kingdom perhaps.

The magic of music.  What a great new sound!  Now he’s in his 20’s and playing guitar in his own band. Still making musical magic.

Halloween magic. Catching sight of his reflection in a shop window. Wow! Look! There’s a kangaroo just like me!

The magic of unconditional love.  A quiet moment shared with a best friend.  Someone to tell all those secrets to.

For more on the Weekly Photo Challenge go to https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/magic/

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge – Tracks & Trains

It’s “all aboard!” for Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge which this week is all about tracks & trains. I used to love train rides when I was a kid, especially traveling down from London to Kent to visit my grandparents. Nowadays I rarely take the train except to go downtown.  It’s much more economical to go by train than pay for parking in Chicago.

A view of some train tracks in downtown Chicago.

A train pulling into the station in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. We stopped in Glenwood Springs on our way home from Utah last year, just to stretch our legs and have a walk round.  It was off-season, the Spa of the Rockies was closed for cleaning and just when we got far enough away from the car, the rain started pouring down. Needless to say it was a short walk and the most exciting thing we saw was the train.

The Ashland Railroad Mural, painted in 2014, features the men and women who helped to establish the railroad industry in the North Woods. Right across the street from the mural stands Soo Line Decapod 950 which was, at one time, the worlds largest steam locomotive, weighing in at 190,000 pounds.

If you are a train enthusiast and enjoy looking around old train cars and engines, I can highly recommend a visit to the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, Wisconsin, which is where we saw the Silver Spirit.

For more on Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge go to https://ceenphotography.com/2016/11/17/cees-black-white-photo-challenge-any-tracks-and-trains/

Thursday Doors – Cuneo

There is a wealth of doors on which to focus at the Cuneo Mansion in Vernon Hills, Illinois.  Built in 1914 for Samuel Insull, the founder of Commonwealth Edison, Cuneo was opened as a museum in 1991 and was gifted to Loyola University in 2010.

We’ve been visiting Cuneo for many years but only ever saw the outside of the mansion, preferring to just wander around the gardens.  However, on this most recent trip, the doors beckoned me and I went inside.

Some of the most beautiful doors at Cuneo are the folding stained-glass doors that separate the Chapel from the Great Hall. The Chapel was originally built as a sun porch but John Cuneo Sr. had it converted for the confirmation of his children in 1941.

The mirrored doors in Julia Shepherd Cuneo’s private dressing room reflect the gold leaf treatment of the surrounding walls.

There are one or two surprises in the kitchen area including a vault where the family silver was stored.

Doors at Cuneo come in all shapes and styles from plain to ornate.  All the outer doors to the bedrooms on the second floor are latticed folding doors but the interior doors are far more elaborate.

For more on Norm’s Thursday Doors go to https://miscellaneousmusingsofamiddleagedmind.wordpress.com/2016/11/17/thursday-doors-november-17-2016/

More about other aspects of the Cuneo Mansion to follow in a later post.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Roofs

This week Cee has us climbing up on the roof for her Fun Foto Challenge.  This puts me in mind of the time we lived in a house with a flat roof and would sit listening to it creak as the snow piled up on it during the winter months.  No flat roofs in this collection except for the first one at Arlington Park racetrack in Arlington Heights. I would hate to have to get up there and shovel snow off of this one.

Some of the angles and lines of the roof at the Art Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The more classical lines of the roof at the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in Bartlett, Illinois.

Looking up at the roof of the Dole Mansion in Crystal Lake, Illinois.

The bold lines of the roof at Kohl Children’s Museum in Glenview, Illinois.

For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to https://ceenphotography.com/2016/11/15/cees-fun-foto-challenge-roofs/

Thursday Doors – On The Farm

Time for Norm’s Thursday Doors and this week I’m featuring the doors at Volkening Farm in the Spring Valley Nature Center, Schaumburg.  For more on Norm’s Thursday Doors go to https://miscellaneousmusingsofamiddleagedmind.wordpress.com/2016/11/10/thursday-doors-november-10-2016/

“Little pig, little pig, let me come in.”

“Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin!”

“Okay, fair enough.”

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Entrances and Doors

For Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week I’ve attempted to focus on the entrance rather than the door.  To me the word entrance implies all that is in the immediate area as well as the door itself, and very often the door is the least impressive part of the whole.

In this case, the entrance to the Infinity Room at The House on the Rock in Wisconsin is just a simple glass door, but the large windows on either side present a view of the interior that makes this entrance an impressive sight.

This unexpected entrance at the house on the Redfield Estate in Glenview is made more interesting by the spiral staircase and surrounding foliage which lead up to it.

It may not be as grand as Wrigley Field but the entrance to Silver Cross Field in Joliet puts up quite a bold front.

One of the more elaborate entrances in downtown Chicago is at Tribune Tower on North Michigan Avenue.

For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to https://ceenphotography.com/2016/11/08/cees-fun-foto-challenge-entrances-and-doors/

Weekly Photo Challenge – Chaos

I imagine things may have calmed down a bit by now, but when Maggie Daley Park in downtown Chicago first opened, chaos reigned.  Not only were the kids screaming and having a great time, parents were hurtling down the slides and enjoying surreptitious rides on things meant only for five-year-olds.  It was all rather fun to watch. For more on The Weekly Photo Challenge at The Daily Post go to https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/chaos/