No stone unturned

On Monday we all met in Charlotte, North Carolina, to celebrate the birthday of granddaughter Melanie, who turns nine on December twenty-first.

First stop: The Green.

The Green is what's known as a pocket park: a grassy acre right smack dab in the middle of the city.

It's especially appealing to me because its theme is literature. 

If you're so inclined, you can stand beneath colorful signs pointing to Edgar (Wisconsin) Allan (Canada) Poe (South Carolina) and/or Emily (Minnesota) Bronte (Texas).

And there are several more authorly intersections from which to choose.

Or you can perch on giant stacks of huge bronze books, everything from Roots to Wuthering Heights.

There are oversized bronze "pages" lying here and there. And you can read them.

In summer a giant fish fountain spurts cooling water that you can wander through.

All the while, speakers embedded in walkways and retaining walls play gurgling and chirping sounds.

And there is a brick church with gothic arches. Charming.

The Green lies in the shadow of the Duke Energy Center, a most impressive skyscraper.

So there's lots to see and many places to aim one's camera.

As usual, the kids were irrepressible, running hither and yon, climbing, caroming, tumbling, falling, squealing, shrieking.

Or even occasionally, simply staring.

It was epic. I even got them to pose a few times.

Allissa was happy that this green-space visit was not like the last one she and I enjoyed together.

That would be back in October, when Erica and I took Allissa and Melanie to a cemetery. Just to walk and sight-see.

When we got out of the car, I was obliged to deliver a lecture: no running, no screaming, no leaning or sitting on tombstones.

And they were little angels.

But perhaps I've taken Allissa to one too many cemeteries (like me, she loves them).

Because on Monday night when we'd moved on to Red Robin for hamburgers, she got a trifle confused.

The subject was the set of stackable rings our daughter, Stephanie, received for her birthday last September.

As in, I asked Stephanie if she was enjoying her rings. Of course she said yes.

As we ordered various rings late in the summer to assemble Steph's knuckleful, we made sure to include stones representing each of her babies' birth months.

Blue topaz (zircon) for December, amethyst for February, and white topaz (diamond) for April.

Allissa remembered that her dad kicked in for one of the rings: the white topaz, representing the month of Allissa's own Tax Day birth.

Hence: "Dad bought the white ring," she blurted. "My tombstone."

*crickets*

You cannot make this stuff up.

Nice try, Allissa. But wrong stone.

She was quickly corrected between our collective mouthfuls of burgers and fries.

"Your BIRTHstone, Allissa," we chorused.

Oh.

She laughed at herself.

Something each of us should do more.

And that is all for now.

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Happy Wednesday ~ Merry Christmas

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Comments

[Mari]

Happy early birthday to Melanie! I had forgotten that she shares a birthdate with my Mom, who would have been 80 this year. Hard to believe.
That park looks wonderful! We would love to visit it.
The kids are so cute!

[irene]

Aren't they fun. Great photos, Happy Birthday to your sweet girl.

[Erica]

Absolutely gorgeous pictures. Love these babies.

[Ginger Snicklefritz]

Oh! Love the photos, AngelSeeker! Your photographic perspectives are always a JOY to observe! The children are more than ADORABLE! Fascinating "flame" reflection in the unique skyscraper! Lovely park...what a thoughtful design! Great contrast with the two old churches framing the modern skyscraper! Must get busy today! Just had to stop by, though! Blessings! J

[Donna (Texas)]

All the babies are just Gorgeous Miss Jenny!
And so are the other shots...You have "the eye"!!
hughugs

[Sue the Hobbit]

Those kids just get more and more adorable. And I want to visit that park.

[Ginger Snicklefritz]

Hi! Just read all I have missed since Melly's BD! Glad NC family are well and celebrated Christmas with you all! Again, as always, GREAT photographs! Enjoyed! Is that YOU reflected in the silver ornament? Great Angel Wings candle holder! Your Mom gets a "Gold Star" for that one! Yes, it would be grand to view/study Annie L's photos...so glad you did it! Long story, short...I met Ansel Adams once when my boss (at the time...the late 1960s to early 1970s) brought him to Dallas, TX. Dave Reynolds owned UNICAM (a professional-grade camera and darkroom equipment store, plus developing/printing services) on Ross Avenue in downtown Dallas. Both Dave and his Son, David, were fabulous photographers with all of the technical expertise one could dream about! I worked for Dave for awhile and we remained friends until he "moved to Heaven". {Dave allowed me to purchase my beloved NIKON F2 Photomic body, with the light meter that had interchangeable focusing screens, and a 35mm wide angle lens, from the factory...they engraved my name on the base of the body...unfortunately, it no longer functions...the shutter curtain became stuck on my travels to California in the 1970s...Ugh!} Dave and I travelled to Love Field Airport to meet Mr. Adams' plane. Mr. Adams was a lovely man...gentle, kind and very quietly friendly...and oh, so talented and willing to share his knowledge! He had a very engaging smile which welcomed you into his world! Dave arranged a showing of Ansel's photographs at a gallery known as the "After Image" in the Quadrangle Shopping Village in the Oak Lawn Avenue, Turtle Creek Boulevard and Cedar Springs Road area...an "artsy and antiques" district at that time. I never quite caught on to the intensely complicated "Zone System" of exposure and developing of film and printing techniques! Too much Mathematics I guess, for me! Thanks once more, for your wonderful blog! Blessings! Janet in Dallas aka: Ginger Snicklefritz