Visiting the girl, larger than life and under the shade

- No, that is not Scarlett Johansson, it's the advertisement on the front of The High Museum of Atlanta for The Girl with a Pearl Earring exhibit.  Johannes Vermeer's masterwork is the focal point of an exhibit featuring "Dutch paintings from the Mauritshuis."  Friend Leisa and I visited the exhibit after work, on the night the High stays open late.  If you click on the High Museum link up there highlighted in red, the "girl" will wink at you.

- The large fruit installation on the porch outside the lobby of the museum.

- Leisa alerted me to the view from the other side, where there was a large knife just aching to cut that fruit up for a snack.

- This sculpture, The Shade, by Auguste Rodin, is under the shade of a very large Ginkgo tree on the grounds of the museum.  It was donated to the museum by the French government in memory of the 106 Atlanta arts patrons who died in a plane crash at Orly Airport in Paris, while on a museum sponsored trip, on June 3, 1962.

I also loved the dinner we had after the museum visit, sitting outside on a balmy evening.   And I'm off to a less balmy place today - the North Carolina mountains, where I plan to read books by the river.  I hope you have a great weekend, my friends. 

Full of grace, gentle spirit and growth

Today is the 50th anniversary of the day that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC.  Bells will ring in all 50 states at 3:00 pm EDT today (the time of the speech 50 years ago), including "Stone Mountain of Georgia," mentioned in the speech, which is about five minutes from my home.  In tribute, I am re-posting photos taken two and three years ago, to celebrate the day.

- You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love... From the I Have a Dream speech, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  The sign borders the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta just next to Freedom Parkway.

- This is the original church building for Ebenezer Baptist Church, standing for more than 122 years. It was here, from the pulpit of the Heritage Sanctuary, that Dr. King preached his ministry of nonviolence. The sign asking that cars yield to bicycles is a tribute to the gentle spirit of the neighborhood.

- Due to church growth, this much larger church building now resides just across the street. The King Center is just behind it.

I'll be working today at 3pm, but looking forward to the TV news capturing that bell ringing.  And I heard on the morning news that they have physically moved a large bell to the top of Stone Mountain so they can ring it at the appointed time.  It gives me chills to think about it.

Birthday party, the cake and on the move

- A party for a beloved one-year-old.  Monroe's mom took pictures of him every monthly anniversary of his birth and strung them up for his party.  An inspired idea.

- As is tradition in our family for a first birthday party, he was allowed to eat this little cake with his fingers.  He delicately picked off pieces and ate them, probably wondering when someone would stop him.

Favorite moment of the weekend:  Sitting down in my grandmother's rocking chair in his bedroom, while his mom gets him ready for church.  He toddles over, picks up a book and hands it to me.  He sits in my lap and lets me read to him for about two minutes and then is down and off again.

A rare sunny day, tunnel and train trestle

- It has been such a rainy summer here that this bit of sun was welcome on Wednesday afternoon, the only afternoon this week I was able to walk in the park.  I'm getting well acquainted with Leslie Sansone and her "power walk" DVD that I do at home on rainy days.

- This wooden "tunnel" goes through the train trestle.  There's a children's playground on the other side.  See the train going by above?

- And just at the entrance to that little tunnel, I looked up and snapped this image of the train going by overhead.  This was no passenger train, it was full of train cars with goods that make our lives better.  I love to hear the rumbling when it goes by.

I'm looking forward to seeing family this weekend.  It's Monroe's first birthday!  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Gift, tomato sandwich and how to spot a good one

- The plant manager of the printing company came in on Monday with a bag of these home grown beauties and walked around handing them out.  It was fun to hear the expressions of delight each recipient gave.  Me:  "Oooh!  Thank you!"

- Mine turned into a tomato sandwich for lunch yesterday at my desk.  In the south, the tomato sandwich typically has white bread, but I have the South Beach diet principles so firmly in my head that I made my sandwich with whole grain bread.  But the rest is all southern:  Duke's mayonnaise, salt and pepper.

- My dad used to tell me how to spot a tomato grown outdoors on a vine (i.e., not hothouse) and the one above is a perfect example, with its cracking around the stem area.  The tomatoes that look too perfect generally do not taste as good.  The one above tasted like outdoors.

Proprietary, Sunday dinner and the first sip

- Whiskers, the shop cat at the antique shop I like to stop in at on Saturday mornings after my walk in Lilburn, Georgia.  He ran to greet me when I walked in the bell tinkling front door, and accompanied me to the counter, where I chatted with the owner.  He looks downright proprietary in this photo.

- It mostly rained this weekend, so I got in the kitchen a little.  I mention this salad all the time, but I don't think I ever photographed it.  I love the vibrant colors of this Chopped Greek Salad and love to make it.  It's as good as it looks, especially topped with feta cheese.  I like to substitute a yellow or orange bell pepper for the green one suggested in the recipe - for more color.

- And it's still raining.  My favorite good thing of the morning so far - that first sip of coffee.

Perfect harmony, something sweet and summertime

I guess this is becoming a recurring theme...photos from my walk.  Hope you don't mind.

- Tanyard Creek Park, near my office, is so wonderful for its wide, uncrowded walking paths and beautiful vegetation.  Plus it borders an 18-hole golf course on its south end, named for a famous golfer, Bobby Jones.  You can't see them well, but in the far distance, geese were wandering through the course, and the golfers were just playing around them.  If you click to enlarge, you can at least see a golfer or two.

- This flowering vine has cropped up all along the walking trail, the last few days.  I kept getting a whiff of something that smelled sweet and I wonder if that was from those tiny white flowers.

- Summertime...and the living is easy.  A man walks his dog on a coolish August afternoon.  Click to enlarge.  It's hard to believe that a Civil War battle, with many lives lost, was fought right where I walk.  It's sure peaceful now.

I hope the weekend is peaceful and wonderful for you, my friends!