The Larsson trilogy

Posted on June 23, 2010 by pearlsandprose

I don’t have any new photos to put up at the moment, so thought I’d write about one of my favorite authors right now. Stieg Larsson. You may have heard of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo? I read that and the second one, The Girl Who Played with Fire. I just bought The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, but am loath to begin it. Why? Because I don’t want the series to end.

This guy is the most amazing storyteller! He draws you in and never lets go. Lisbeth Salander is one helluva protagonist. It’s refreshing to encounter a female character who’s so strong and drawn by a male writer. You can sense his admiration on every page.

What absolutely kills me is that Larsson is gone forever. And that he had planned this series to include TEN books, not three! I read that his death may have been suspicious (a heart attack at 50) and that he was an activist against Swedish extreme right and racist organizations. According to Wikipedia, Larsson lived “for years under death threats from his enemies.”

Supposedly, Larsson left part of a fourth novel on a computer in his partner’s  possession. The partner, Eva Gabrielsson, inherited nothing from the millions of books sold because she and Larsson were unmarried. I guess you have to publish your address to wed in Sweden, and they needed to guard their identities because of the death threats! Could you just weep?

Hopefully the fourth book will make its way to publication. For now, I’ll savor every page of number three.

I should issue a warning here, though. These books are NOT for the faint-hearted! There are some really terrible characters in the series who do unspeakable things. Usually I can’t handle stuff like that, but Larsson makes it bearable somehow.

One more thing: go see the Dragon Tattoo movie–it’s excellent! I’ve only seen a few Swedish movies, but liked them all. I loved that this film didn’t have the “Hollywood treatment” where everyone looks perfect and youthful and plastic. The main character has bad skin and wrinkles and not-so-great hair. But he’s so much more believable that way. And the women look–gasp–their ages! Hollywood, please take note.

I’m off to shoot photos…have a great one!

Posted in books, literature | Tagged , | 70 Comments

Twilight and leaded glass

Posted on June 23, 2010 by pearlsandprose

Oh, I hope you’re not expecting a blog about the “Twilight” series! I guess that word is forever linked with the vampire set now. This is about real twilight, that subdued light right after sunset.

But first, one more shot of the exterior of Washington National Cathedral at sunset. It was so clear that day–very little haze or pollution.

Wash Natl Cathedral

There are some really beautiful leaded-glass windows and stained glass, of course:

glass and wrought iron

stained glass

guild window

The last window is part of the All Hallows Guild gift shop on the grounds.  I’ve never been inside, but the web site makes it look very inviting.

Now for some twilight shots. Once again, the gift shop. I shot this hand-held, no tripod, so it’s not the greatest. I’ll definitely re-shoot one night with a tripod.

It kind of looks like something out of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, doesn’t it?

Here’s the cathedral à l’heure bleue….

Have a great one….

Posted in architecture, photography | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Witching hour at the National Cathedral

Posted on June 22, 2010 by pearlsandprose

Cinematographers call the time of day right before sunset “witching hour.” Everything looks golden and glow-y. I need to remember to shoot more at that time of day.

Mr. Pearl and I decided to roam the grounds of Washington National Cathedral on Friday evening and I took a few photos:

The little white speck? That’s the moon.

It was a spectacular night–warm but not humid, breezy and golden everywhere. Rare indeed in the Wash DC area.

stone cat

I’m so pleased with the way this turned out. Italian stonecutters worked for years on all these carvings. One of the last to survive was from five generations of stonecutters. What an amazing craft.

I haven’t been to the cathedral in years and forgot how BIG it is. The grounds are lovely too.

Another carving. I have some l’heure bleue shots to show you tomorrow….

Posted in architecture, photography | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Serendipity, echinacea & Mexican gourmet

Posted on June 18, 2010 by pearlsandprose

Once again I’m overwhelmed by the connections made through the Internet. Yesterday, I clicked on a link in someone else’s blog and it took me to the nicest place. A photography blog with simply amazing photos and the gentlest spirit at the helm. She also happens to be on Flickr, so I left a comment on one of her photos and she commented back with the kindest words. And it was one of the pics I was feeling kind of “blah” about. There’s just nothing like a word from someone you admire. You know it’s not because they’re related to you or because they already love you.

OK, if you can stand it, here’s one more photo of pink flowers. I’m actually getting tired of flower photos, so you must be too. I’m going to get out and take pictures of other things this weekend.

Textures courtesy of Florabella.

These are coneflowers, or Echinacea purpurea. They’re called purple, but they look pink to me. Yes, this is the same echinacea that’s supposed to make symptoms of the common cold less severe. Not sure if it works. Personally, I swear by garlic. It’ll kill anything!

I just remembered a couple of photos I took the other weekend. They are of a gourmet Mexican restaurant in the D.C. area. Haven’t tried it yet, but love the exterior colors….

Here’s a closeup of the cool sign:

Ya gotta love the Margarita St. sign.

OK, my little dog is waiting patiently at my feet for his walk, so I’ll sign off for now.  Have a great weekend!

Posted in flowers, gardening, photography | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Marigolds and PSE 8

Posted on June 18, 2010 by pearlsandprose

These marigolds are kinda cheery, yeah? I’m not a huge fan, but the larger ones are kinda’ nice. They’re supposed to ward off bugs if you want to plant them around your tomatoes. (The scent isn’t real pleasant.)

Here’s a tiny zinnia I shot in a neighbor’s yard the other day. I deliberately blurred the background and applied a bit of texture so the bloom would stand out. Textures are from Florabella.

I can’t remember the name of this one–pink bellflower?–but thought it was sweet:

I’m kind of partial to pink flowers, so be warned. ; )

Well, I’m at the end of the free trial period for PSE 8 (Photoshop Elements 8) so will take the plunge and purchase it. Soooo much cheaper than the full-blown Photoshop and perfectly adequate for my needs. I got used to using free stuff like Photoscape and Picasa, so this is a nice bonus.

Have a good one!

Posted in flowers, gardening, photography | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

OK, I’m a flower freak….

Posted on June 17, 2010 by pearlsandprose

I admit it, I’m a flower freak. First it was bleeding hearts, then peonies, now mandevilla. I just can’t get enough! ‘Tis a good addiction, though, yeah? This, by the way, is a pink mandevilla. Just in case you were wondering.

Not real keen on daylilies, but this one caught my eye mixed in with all the lovely green….

And here’s a very simple texture on a New Guinea impatiens:

I hope I’m not driving anyone crazy with captions above AND below photos. I’m kind of learning this as I go. But I’m sure you’ve figured that out already. ; )

Adieu for now….

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Summer blooms

Posted on June 16, 2010 by pearlsandprose

More booty from the nursery:

Lantana. I never noticed this plant until I lived in California, then saw it everywhere. I tend to kill it, so won’t be buying one soon. I think I overwatered it, which I tend to do.

Another zinnia, with some texture added. Again, this might look blown out on some monitors.

All for now. We have to drive a car down to my stepson, as his is in the shop again. I’m afraid he might have a lemon.

Cheers!

Posted in flowers, gardening, photography | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Nursery finds

Posted on June 16, 2010 by pearlsandprose

Mr. Pearl and I went to a new nursery yesterday, thinking it would be just like the original, only farther away. Sadly, it was a fraction of the size and they didn’t even have landscaping sand, which we came for.

But I had my Nikon with me and as I took pics, I noticed they had a really nice selection of annuals. I’m more of a perennial person, but I think you’ll agree these are colorful and lively. Enjoy….

Pink and orange zinnias.

This bumblebee appeared right as I was shooting. Very considerate of him, non? This is one of my favorite flowers and I can’t think of the name of it! Old age is setting in….

I have never seen a red-and-white mandevilla before–only pink or white. I may have to buy one of these….  This is so vivid on my good monitor, but kind of blown out on my laptop screen. I’m hoping the cheaper monitor has it wrong….otherwise, the vivid setting on my camera will be wasted.

Another shot of Mr. Bumblebee. I’ll check out the name of this flower the next time I’m at a nursery.

Have a great one!

Posted in flowers, gardening, photography | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Toledo blues

Posted on June 12, 2010 by pearlsandprose

We took a day out of our time in Madrid to see Toledo, but it rained almost the whole time, so the photos are somewhat blah. I colorized this to give it some interest. Taken near the cathedral.

We found Toledo less friendly than Madrid, and I think that colored our perception of the city. Seeing the old Jewish quarter was kind of depressing too. I did not realize all the Jews were expelled in 1492. It was kind of shocking to see a display titled “What is a synagogue?” in the actual synagogue.

I took this photo during a brief letup in the rain. It’s a lovely candy store that I also saw in Seville.

Don’t you feel for this poor guy? ; ) Hey, it’s hard to decide on all that candy!

This is a side street in Toledo:

One place I really liked was the Plaça de Zocodover:

You may have noticed I’m drawn to arches. Being around Moorish architecture was fantastic for me.

Sometimes I am really surprised at which photos draw the most attention on Flickr. This shot of the interior of the Toledo train station has gotten a lot:

I didn’t expect this to turn out at all because of the difficult lighting. A nice surprise.

Here’s the exterior:

The station was built around 1918.

And yes, the sun came out right as we were leaving.

Posted in architecture, photography, Travel | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ms., not Mrs.

Posted on June 11, 2010 by pearlsandprose

OK, I’m switching to Ms. Pearl. Don’t get me wrong–I love being married–but Mrs. sounds a little too…quaint. Old-fashioned. And I’m not that.

On to photography. Here are some more shots taken on our honeymoon in Spain….

On our first night in Madrid, we were leaving Plaça Mayor when my husband suddenly looked up and pointed to this sign. I couldn’t believe it. It means July 7th and that’s the date we were married! The first night of our honeymoon and this. It was a sign. Literally.

El Retiro Park

This was taken on the little lake at Parque el Retiro. She looks so feminine and petite and he looks like a real hunk, yet she’s doing the work.  Not what I was expecting in traditional Old Spain.

Plaza Mayor

One of the many entrances to Plaça Mayor.  I told you I liked it there.

Seven dollar 7Up

My husband asked me to take a picture of this tiny 7Up bottle so he could tell everyone it cost seven dollars. This was at the charming but expensive cafe outside the Thyssen Art Museum. (It tasted really good, though.)

photo shoot, Madrid

We were outside the Banco de España and walked right into a photo shoot. There were no barriers, and they seemed very casual, but I noticed the big white reflectors and some amazing cameras. The guy is just as tiny as she is. For all I know, she could be a supermodel in Spain. Killer bag, yeah?

Plaza de Cibeles, Madrid

I believe this is the old post office at Plaça de Cibeles. I like this shot, even with the crane in the middle. Honestly, I could photograph this kind of architecture all day long and never get tired of it.

Thanks for stopping….

Posted in architecture, photography, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment