Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Bathrooms

Well, this was a challenge and no mistake!  I’m not usually in the habit of taking pictures of bathrooms except when visiting houses of historical interest and it would appear that way back in the day, bathrooms weren’t necessarily high on the agenda.  Still, I’m not one to shirk a challenge and, trawling through the old photo files, I finally came up with a few images that I thought might qualify for Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge.

Out of all the 42 bathrooms at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, it’s incredible to me that this was only one that I seemed to have photographed. Was I not paying attention?

Glensheen Mansion in Duluth was a little more productive on the bathroom front.  One thing about these old houses, they had some decent sized tubs!

The bathroom at the Cuneo Mansion in Vernon Hills was a little more elaborate.  I guess in future I’ll have to be a bit more aware of my surroundings, although I’m not sure that whipping the camera out the next time I’m in a public convenience wouldn’t get me arrested.

For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Bathrooms or Outhouses

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Motors

This week, Cee asks us to gear up and bring on the motors for her Fun Foto Challenge.  These images were all captured at Bluesmobile Cruise Night in Mount Prospect, Illinois. For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Things with Motors for House or Garage

 

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Furniture

The subject for Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week is furniture.   What you see in the following images is anything but ‘just part of the furniture.‘  I love ornate furniture like these chairs and table at The Hotel Chequamegon in Ashland, Wisconsin, although they are not necessarily designed for comfort.  Of course you would need the right kind of house in which to put them.  And I definitely wouldn’t want the job of dusting them every day.

Now, if you owned a place like Biltmore House in Asheville, you would need plenty of fancy furniture to fill all those rooms, like these beautiful pieces in the Salon.

In Mr. Vanderbilt’s bedroom.

In the Van Dyck Room

And in the Morland Room.

Glensheen Mansion in Duluth, Minnesota also has it’s share of fine furniture, although maybe not on quite such a grand scale.

And furniture at the Cuneo Mansion in Vernon Hills, Illinois is certainly worth seeing.

 

 

For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Furniture, Tables, Chairs, Sofa, etc.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Toys

When I was a child growing up in London, I yearned to possess a doll house such as the one my friend owned.  It was a large, three-storied wooden house with furniture and lighting and I was green with envy.  I was too young to understand that my parents couldn’t afford to gratify my craving for such a lavish toy and when they did eventually buy me a small, metal 4-room house, I can remember the feeling of bitter disappointment which I hope I managed to hide. Perhaps this is why now, as an adult, I can’t resist the occasional urge to buy a wooden dollhouse and splurge out on fixtures and fittings or gaze longingly at really fancy houses and miniature furniture in museums such as those pictured below at the Stephenson County Historical Museum in Freeport, Illinois.

I’m currently renovating an old house that I bought at a thrift store and every time our granddaughter visits she looks to see how far I’ve got with the decorating, her little fingers itching to rearrange the furniture.  I want to tell her that this is not the kind of toy that you play with. This is just for looking at, not for touching, but then I remember the house that I longed for when I was her age and I have to relent. “OK kid, but be careful.”

For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Teddy Bears, Dolls, Toys

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Pots and Pans

Cee has given us quite a choice for her Fun Foto Challenge this week, ranging from pots and pans to dishes and silverware, none of which feature heavily in my photo files.   I really must widen my field of subjects. Who knew pictures of my old Pyrex dishes might come in handy some day! However, I did come across one picture that I thought might work.

The pots and pans in the kitchens of the Biltmore Estate in Asheville are quite impressive.  The service area of the house is located in the basement and includes the main kitchen, pastry kitchen and rotisserie kitchen as well as walk-in refrigerators and a laundry room.

For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Dishes, Pots, Pans, Silverware

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Hot/Cold

This week, Cee has us running hot and cold for the Fun Foto Challenge and my selections for the hot segment come from Spring Valley Nature Center in Schaumburg.   The first image was taken during a controlled burn in one of the fields a few years ago and the second shows the remains of a bonfire near the farmhouse.

For the cold segment I decided on a shot of a hothouse in a cold Chicago winter at the Botanic Garden and a snow sculpture at a Winterfest at our local shopping mall.

For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to https://ceenphotography.com/2017/05/30/cees-fun-foto-challenge-hot-andor-cold/

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – View From The Back, Bottom Or Underneath

This week Cee has us getting to the bottom of things for her Fun Foto Challenge. Not only that, but the back and underneath as well.  Going through the photo files I realize that although I try to take pictures from as many different angles as possible, I rarely focus specifically on the back of a subject and these days if I get down low enough to take a shot from underneath, it takes me a while to get back up again. Still, I managed to find a few BBU’s that I thought might work.

This is definitely a back & bottom shot.  The combination of underwear and wellington boots was a bonus.

Luckily I didn’t have to crouch down too far to get a shot underneath the roof of the Stumpf Belvedere which stands at the top of a hill at the Green Bay Botanic Gardens in Wisconsin.

Taking a leisurely ride in the back of a hay wagon  at Willow Springs Garden in Wausau and a rear-end view from a carriage ride at the Wade House Historic Site in Greenbush, Wisconsin.

Two views taken underneath the great Mackinac Bridge in Michigan. The first was taken from the hydro-jet ferry boat heading out to Mackinac Island and the second was captured from shore just before sunset.

Image taken at the 63rd Annual American Indian Powwow in Elk Grove Village last year. Impressive from any angle! The people, costumes, dancing, music and weather were spectacular!

For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to https://ceenphotography.com/2017/03/21/cees-fun-foto-challenge-view-from-the-back-bottom-or-underneath/