Stark reminder

From the Stark House website : "Completed in 1894, the Queen Anne home of William Henry Stark and his wife, Miriam Melissa Lutcher Stark, stands alone in Orange, Texas, as an extraordinary statement of Texas social history.... Today the W. H. Stark House appears much as it did in the 1920s with rooms filled with original family furniture, carpets, silver, a collection of antique porcelains, and an outstanding collection of American Brilliant Period cut glass."

Well worth a stop off the I-10 in Orange for a visit.

--steve buser

Texas to the max

At the state line, as you cross from Louisiana to Texas on the I-10, they have a huge star at the welcome center. Of course it doesn't look like this. But I started with a picture of the star and said, "Now if I had designed that welcome sign, how would it look?"


It would have to have the colors of the Texas flag of course.


--steve buser

Papa 's present

Guess what my grandson Sullivan got Papa for Christmas? 

He does his own shopping at the dollar store and it is a real pleasure to see what he picked out for each one in the family. Every one of his presents has a real connection to the person receiving it. For instance, guess why Papa got this?


You're way off. I am sure this is so I can find clues.


Not.


-- steve buser

Previewing the game

It seems there are broadcast booths set up all over New Orleans for the BCS College Football Championship game here Monday night. In this photo, the Fox Sports Network were previewing the game at Artillery Park, across from Jackson Square and with St. Louis Cathedral as their backdrop.


--steve buser

Maiden Texas

Elaborate costumes are everywhere at the Texas Renaissance Festival just outside Houston each spring. This young lady lives her dream as princess or maybe dutchess. That is what the festival is all about -- you are your dreams. You wake up in the 16th century. Remember those good ole days?


--steve buser

Slowly faded glory

 
Weather has done its best to wash and fade the color that the builder added to this wood on a house in New Orleans. But the color refuses to die. Hiding deep in the pores of the wood, it holds on to its originally, if faded purpose -- to make the house sparkle with color.


Glory fades quickly at first, and then stubbornly refuses to go away completely.


--steve buser .... Technorati tag: houses

Fly in, fog in

A seagull comes flying in low to get a better look into the fog-dimmed water in the bay in Victoria on Vancouver Island. We took the ferry over from Seattle. Unfortunately, the weather on Victoria had not desire to be sunny that day. This was a disappointment, perhaps, but the fog always has a romantic element to it. It was generous to my lens, yielding up several interesting shots.


--steve buser

What's old, what's lost

Two old technologies together in one package are shown here -- they are from an old house we were in recently (the shot is from the floor looking toward the ceiling, and "up-door' view). The shot got me thinking -- a lot of old technology goes by the way side because it gets replaced by better more useful ways of doing things. For instance, the old key and lock in the picture. There's no doubt that modern locks are a lot more secure. What was good technology for its time has to give way to the new.

But the glass door knob is a different thing. It's mostly been replaced by metal knobs with faux finishes. I don't see them as something better. The old glass knob had an aire of refinement and grace. While it didn't turn the lock any better than new ones, it didn't turn it any less efficiently either. On the other hand, the glass knob kept its luster for much longer than it's metal replacement - a simple cleaning wiped away the inevitable grime that builds up on door knobs.

I say bring the glass knobs back. We could use more refinement and grace in our lives.


--steve buser

To sleep, perchance to dream

A quiet room. Subdued light. A comfy stroller. A tired child.


Adds up to a cozy nap.


We were at a open-house/Saints-game party that my brother-in-law Bob was having this past Sunday in New Orleans. Meanwhile, my granddaughter Sophie made use of this back room bedroom of the Chippewa Street home.


I guess they should add that to the sales brochure. "Marble counter tops, renovated wood floors. Bedroom comes pre-dreamed-in . . ."


By the way, the dreams were considerably better than the game.


--steve buser

Berry Merry Christmas

We ran into these berries while visiting our daughter's family in College Station over Christmas. I had never put it together that these berries were around for the holidays. I guess that cutsy saying, "Have a Berry Merry Christmas" was true to life.

--steve buser

Make sure you stop by and see New Orleans Daily Photo while your here

Flying fearlessly

You're big now. Four-years-old. Nearly a man. It's time to take the big leap. Grab that motorcycle by the handle grips and leave the bounds of earth. Mother Earth. Cut the strings. It may be only for a second or two, but you are flying into a place where only clouds and eagles live.

Again and again. Around and around. Almost seems like a ride at the fair. Almost.

Our grandson Sullivan shows how it's done. Who would have thought that out of all those motorcycles, he would get the fastest, meanest, highest-flying of the whole bunch? Who would have thunk it.

Only the bravest of the brave.

--steve buser

Slipping out to sea.

Looking back out the plane window as we jet out of Houston, the alluvial deposits sparkle in the late after noon sun. The City of Anahuac is in the lower left on the shore of Lake Anahuac. That lake is released through a dam which is barely visible into the Trinity River. The Trinity isa line come in from the right of the picture and taking a sharp turn toward the top of the picture right in the center. It spills through a channel into Trinity Bay.


The water finds its way from there into Galveston Bay that comes up to Houston. Eventually the effluent makes its way out to the Gulf of Mexico. But before it does, it makes a lot of sailboat enthusiasts happy and makes it possible for large ships to come into Houston.

So much for all the commerce and geography. I just thought it was an interesting shot.

-steve buser