Saturday, October 30, 2010

A Little of This, A Little of That . . .

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To continue with the theme thread in red from the last post, while out in the wilds of western Pennsylvania the other day, this lovely red property caught my eye. That red truck would've looked just fine parked in front of this place. Maybe if I was good enough with photoshop I could make that happen, but for now you'll have to see it in your mind's eye. I can just imagine a lady in a red dress leaning up against one of these porch pillars, watching the traffic go by. This is most certainly one for the growing catalog of dream houses which can be found in these pages. If you'd like to see more of my dream houses, just click here. For a little music to go along with this old red house, there's a video at the bottom of this post for your pleasure.
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Even in the pouring rain I thought this place was beautiful. Would've loved to see the inside, and whatever traces past lives might have left there, but it was posted "Private Property", so I decided to leave well enough alone. Looked like the roof was about ready to collapse anyway.
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So, yes, memories, red souvenirs. Red houses, red trucks, ladies in red, red flowers on a tombstone. Last Sunday I had the very good fortune to be able to meet James who is the mind and fine photographer behind Newtown Area Photo and the Weekend Reflections series. The agreed meeting place was at one corner of Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris where we spent a couple of hours strolling, chatting, and photographing, before taking off on a hike through Belleville and up to the Buttes Chaumont park. A fine day, with many photographs from Paris recorded from two different perspectives. He has a second blog called Something Sighted where he said he'll be posting some photos from Paris when he gets back home in a couple of weeks time. These red flowers, ceramic and natural, are just one tiny souvenir from that most enjoyable afternoon. Thanks James for taking a day to spend with me !
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While we were walking through Belleville we got to talking about the book and movie "The Red Balloon", which we had both enjoyed as children. I wondered out loud if that story could have contributed in some small way to my wanting to return to Paris later in life, and James desire to spend time in Paris on vacation. Just a little while later I saw some kids playing with a red ball.
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Not actually a balloon, but close enough to have me reminiscing about that story.
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Nearby there were red posters glued on walls, remnants of the protests that shook France up fairly well over the past couple of weeks, over retirement reform questions. This one says, "Our Republic, Same ground, same rights !" Pasted over the poster was a request for any information about a young man named Nicolas who disappeared after 20 October. Did he run away ? Foul play ? Mysteries . . .
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"Tax the profits ! Retirement is at age 60 !" When you look at retirement age or life expectancy in some other countries, these folks don't know how good they have it, imho.
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Right by the entrance to Père Lachaise cemetery, these two red squirrels were caught with their arms crossed, keeping an eye on passers-by. Suspicious if you ask me. I couldn't help think of our blogging squirrel friend, the one and only Lone Grey Squirrel himself, out in Malaysia.
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And to top it all off, Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock doing Red House . . . Wishing you rosy red dreams.
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28 comments:

GreensboroDailyPhoto said...

You so obviously enjoy your blogging. Very interesting photos. Much slow decay. Beauty in decay.

Elizabeth Anderson said...

A perfect way to end my day.

Laurie said...

Great house, Owen! There's a similar looking property on my route home from work, but not red, which I keep meaning to visit. Your post reminded me of Otis REDding and Helen REDdy. Ah, those were the days!
Laurie

Steve said...

That house is amazing, especially the frozen-collapsing roof... gives it an almost oriental look.

Anonymous said...

Them red squirrels are FOXY! Thanks.

Nevine Sultan said...

A little of this and a little of that is... just perfect. The cobblestones... I must admit... with their zigzaggy pattern... are what captured me most. I do so miss stumbling over them in my heels, and laughing into the sky at my inadequacy. And... childhood memories.

Sometimes, Owen, I come here knowing that I will be transported back in time... by a mix of your always haunting photos... and my own haunted imagination.

Wishing you a beautiful Saturday!

Nevine

Stickup Artist said...

I like the theme idea and I love the bridging together of these meanderings with the wonderful color red! My favorite shots are of the old red house in the green woods and especially the children with the red ball on the cobblestones. I love the angle, the textures, the "simplicity," and the shot of color in motion. That' so cool you spent time with James. Good times...

Anonymous said...

vous avez bien fait de respecter la propriété privé !
meme si l'envie de jetter un oeil est grande, et je vous comprends, mais il faut toujours faire attention !
En tout cas quelle maison originale et j'aime votre imagination ! toutes vos photos sont très belles, l'écureuil me plait beaucoup également ! Un post très agréable a lire et a voir, bravo Mr Toad !! :)

A bientot !!

English Rider said...

The red house is wonderful. I expected to see Hansel and Gretel nearby.

-K- said...

Big shock to see the log cabin in the back of the collapsed house. Do you have any idea how old it is? Thanks for posting it.

The Poet Laura-eate said...

What a house beyond cuteness it must have been indeed.

I love red and am gratified to read that this colour immediately makes one more attractive by 20%!

Scientifically-proven apparently!

PeterParis said...

Hi! I have been too absent from the commenting part lately, sorry! I have now at last found the time to go through your latest posts! Everything so perfectly in your particular style... which I and so many others like! :-)

Owen said...

Hi Greensboro,
Most certainly... blogging is an extraordinary opportunity to simply forget about all else, and have a little bit of a good time...

I guess it has a selfish aspect, but then if it leads to meeting other creative and like-minded folks, that can only be a good thing... A window on the world...

Owen said...

Artscapes... too kind... I will continue to try to provide some perfect endings...
:-)

Owen said...

Hey Laurie !
Hope we'll get to see the house you've been driving by ! One should always stop for such places to record them, because one day you'll drive by and find that bulldozers have been around to plow the place down....

And nice call on Otis and Helen... Lots of good red stuff out there ! After listening to the Hendrix version of Red House I found another version of the same song, as performed by a gentleman named Gary Moore, who I hadn't been too familiar with, and wow ! simply awesome... he plays it almost better than Hendrix did, if that's possible...
Cheers !

Owen said...

Steve, I think you are right, it was in the process of transforming itself into a pagoda... I'll be the first monk to check in...
:-)

Owen said...

Dear LGS,
Hmmm, I was wondering if you mentionned Foxy because you were thinking, like I was, that they could be a depiction of a red fox rather than a red squirrel, but looking at images of both, I finally opted for the squirrel interpretation, given it was advertising for a savings bank, for people who want to squirrel their money away... Funny how similar red squirrels and red fox can actually appear in some images...

Owen said...

Dear Nevine,
You're just going to have to get over here, and we'll shoot a video of you stumbling inadequately and beautifully in heels across those paving stones... you'll get a guided tour, with pleasure, a free ticket to all the memories you'd care to re-live.

Will most definitely continue make every effort to transport you... wherever your imagination cares to go. Paris is certainly not the worst destination you could choose...
:-)
Thank you Nevine...

PS and congrats again on getting published ! That is just wonderful !

Owen said...

Hi Stickup,
I was very very lucky to be able to take a day at just the right time to hook up with James in Paris... when blogging leads to actually meeting people who are doing good stuff, it's the best of both worlds.

So, when are you coming ??? The good part about living near Paris is there are an awful lot of folks who for some inexplicable reason want to come here. So sooner or later I have a pretty good chance of meeting just about everyone here... Like Mme Pliers and Mr More than Halfway, who I was able to meet at the airport even not so long ago...

Have been totally loving your latest posts. But there hasn't been an ass in any of them. That's the only criticism I can levy... I think I'd be speaking for more than one were I to say that we miss your ass !
:-)
:-)

Owen said...

Bonjour Mahon,
Merci bcp, oui, un grand merci pour ce petit mot plus que sympa... peut-être on pourrait commencer bientôt à se tutoyer ? Je me souviens très tôt dans quelques uns de mes rencontres blogiens, on m'avait dit que quasiment tout le monde dans les blogs où l'on parlait français se tutoyait... mais bon, peu importe, si le vouvoiement c'est par respect de mon grand age, il n'y a pas de mal non plus.

Voilà, en tout cas, merci du fond du coeur...

Owen said...

Dear E.R., and what about Little Red Riding Hood ? As well as the wolves in those woods there...
:-)

Owen said...

Hi -K-, I honestly don't know how old it might have been, but it had definitely seen better days !

Owen said...

Hi Laura,
I'd never heard that about the color red... interesting. Does it apply to people who drive red cars, also ?

And does that explain why redheads are simply naturally attractive by easily 20% ? Me with my red hair, now I finally after all these years understand why all those crowds of women have been running after me down the streets of Paris !

:-)

Owen said...

Hey Peter, very good to see you out and around... certainly no need to apologize, it is good to see you whenever you can get here... and hope to see you in Paris one of these days. Life's been a bit crazy of late, I haven't had as much time as I'd like either for getting out, but sooner or later things will calm down a bit. I hope...
:-)

Clytie said...

What a wonderful series in red you've got going here, Owen.

I notice on your "souvenir" pic with the flowers that the beautiful red (pansy?) flower has a definite shape. A heart maybe?

So I was wondering ... may I feature this picture (with proper copyright ID and linkage, etc. back to you!) on a future Guest Heart Thursday?

clytie-randomhearts.blogspot.com

Traveling Hawk said...

A struggle for survival or a proof of enduring, that's how I see that house.

Beth Niquette said...

My favorites of all these--was the old red house. I would LOVE to peek inside that place...fascinating photos.

Roxana said...

ah, the wonderful Paris afternoons spent with friends... and even more so, mysterious friends, friends from across worlds, both real and virtual...

the red house is breathtaking!