Roth 365

Day 145 - At Your Own Risk - 5 May 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Roth) — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 22:13:00 +0000

What is it about signs like this that make you want to do exactly what it tells you not to? And by "you" I mean "me".

This one is on the glass outside the cat prison at Petsmart. Do old-timers call the new cats "Fish" like on prison shows? If so, probably confusing to the actual fish.

Day 144 - Dad's Gibson - 4 May 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Roth) — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 00:31:00 +0000

As the story goes, some time during the mid-twentieth century, my dad played in a band. He played piano until he realized that piano was not the chick-magnet he expected it to be. That is when he got this guitar. I don't know what happened after that.

Day 143 - Birthday Mama - 3 May 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Roth) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 23:44:00 +0000

Here is Shelley celebrating her birthday. She said it was only the first year that she would celebrate her 39th birthday. That is not a very logical statement for an ex-Mathlete such as herself to say, but it was her birthday so we let it slide. No matter how she does the math, she will always be younger than me, therefore I win.

Day 142 - Tingling - 2 May 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Roth) — Tue, 31 May 2011 21:52:00 +0000

For whatever reason, some of my most viewed photos on Flickr are of superhero statues. I really don't know why that is, but since views on Flickr are like catnip to me, I'll go back to that well until it runs dry.

Now before you think I've reached new levels of geekiness by posing these two statues in a scene... Hmmm. Well yeah, I guess I have. Thwip!

Day 141 - Pulling The Light - 1 May 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Roth) — Tue, 31 May 2011 21:44:00 +0000

Cockroaches are bugs. Butterflies are bugs. Both are part of the food web and thus have important roles to play in keeping the ecosystems of the world functioning.

Even so, just try buying a ceiling fan with cockroaches at the ends of the pull chains, and I bet the guys at Lowe's would think you were some kind of crazy weirdo.

They would be right of course. Only a crazy weirdo would want to grab a cockroach to turn a light off and on or adjust the fan speed.

See, so when you think about it, it really does make sense that they wouldn't make fans with cockroaches.

Day 140 - Kemptown Stile - 30 Apr 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Roth) — Thu, 26 May 2011 02:34:00 +0000

Sometimes in life your path is very clear. It is easy to see which way to go, and you can proceed with certainty. Perhaps you can even get a glimpse of your destination.

Other times it is less so. Choices abound, none of which shows a clear advantage over the others. You have to proceed, because life keeps moving no matter what, but you do so without any sort of certainty about where you are going.

Which way is better? I don't know. I am not here to offer answers - just pictures.

Day 139 - MoDa - 29 Apr 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Roth) — Mon, 23 May 2011 22:32:00 +0000

Obviously I've gotten behind at posting these, but at least I am still taking them. Best as I can figure we went to Brewer's Alley on this fine Friday and this is in the room that is in the front (or as Shelley calls, the back).

Friday night is not usually family go out to dinner night, so it must have been some kind of occasion. I really just don't remember what. I think we had a good time though.

Day 138 - It's A Colander - 28 Apr 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Roth) — Fri, 20 May 2011 22:24:00 +0000

My hope was that this would come out looking like a ladybug or a piece of watermellon. Or maybe the light reflecting in those water drops would make them look Spider-Man.

That would have been cool.

Instead all I got was a stupid picture of a red plastic colander. At least I learned how to spell colander.

Day 137 - This Old Heart Of Mine - 27 Apr 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Roth) — Mon, 16 May 2011 23:55:00 +0000

I've never been known as someone who is heavy into floriculture. And you know, what? That's OK with me. I am much more interested in olericulture and pomology (but not viticulture) and whatever the thing is that's about planting trees so that I can't see all my neighbors' houses.

Even so, when I see a nice example of Genus Dicentra, I'm not above taking a picture of it.

Day 136 - Wrapped Around - 26 Apr 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Roth) — Mon, 16 May 2011 22:14:00 +0000

This is part of a piece of kinetic art. It gets pretty windy here in Adamstown, MD and we've learned the hard way that these kind of things don't usually survive the winter winds. So, for the past several months it has been hanging from the middle hinge of the coat closet. The nice thing about this location is that the kids tend to knock it down which leads to a really loud noise, after which hilarity ensues.

Day 135 - Sockeye Plus Five - 25 Apr 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Roth) — Sat, 14 May 2011 11:49:00 +0000

One of the nice things about the warmer months is that we tend to grill out a lot. Actually, we tend to grill out a lot during the colder months, too. Point is I like to cook food on the grill.

That's all I have to say about that.

Day 134 - Great Mom - 24 Apr 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Roth) — Thu, 12 May 2011 11:56:00 +0000

This is my grandmother, Lucille Roth. She picked up the name "Great Mom" when she became a great grandmother and that was too many syllables for the kids to say.

Though she is in her mid-nineties there is still an indomitable spark to her character that has been there as long as I've known her.

She's seen so much in her 9+ decades that I wonder what she was thinking about in this moment of contemplation. Probably something along the lines of "He better not be taking my picture."

Day 133 - Another Bell - 23 Apr 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Roth) — Mon, 09 May 2011 22:26:00 +0000

When I was a kid we had a bell just like this by the side of our house. My mom would ring it when she needed us to return home (3g coverage wasn't so good there back then).

When we were visiting the nearby village of St. Peter's on day 133 I saw what looked to be the exact same bell. I soon determined however that this one was not the same one we had in our yard because:
1. Ours was not on a purple post
2. Ours faced the other way
3. Ours is still in our yard, which is not in St. Peters

So, I guess the people at the bell factory must have made more than one.

Day 132 - Lil Hoss - 22 Apr 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Roth) — Mon, 09 May 2011 01:51:00 +0000

Back in my salad days at Penn State, *the* place to go out to eat when someone else was paying was Hoss's steakhouse. This was not just because they had a great salad bar, or decent steaks. They also had a great selection of fresh breads that my constantly hungry 20 year old self could not get enough of.

When heading back to PA for Easter, we needed somewhere to stop for dinner, and since I had given up french fries for Lent (what was I thinking?) we needed a non-fast food destination. When I saw the sign for Hoss's, I thought it would be a good opportunity for some Pennsylvania ethnic food, and to expose the children to their cultural heritage (and they also have soft server ice cream).

Well, I don't know if it is because Hoss's has changed or if because I have, but some of the luster was lacking. The food was fine, but the experience just did not compare to my memory of it.

I think the lesson to be learned from this is: Don't give up french fries for Lent.

Day 131- All Star - 21 Apr 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Roth) — Mon, 09 May 2011 01:36:00 +0000

When we moved in here 7 plus years ago, Ella was a couple weeks old and we had a total of one tree. Now Ella is going on 18 (it seems) and we have lots of trees, but this one was still the first and meanwhile Ella wears pink Chuck Taylors. Since the tree was also wearing pink, I thought it would be good to get a shot of both of them together.

Day 130 - Hiding Everywhere - 20 Apr 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Roth) — Mon, 09 May 2011 01:27:00 +0000

Why should Christmas be the only holiday for which I post themed pictures? Sure, this is not Santa sitting in front of a blurry Christmas tree, but the Easter Bunny sitting in front of some blurry flowers is none to shabby, if I do say so.

This would be even less shabby if I had posted it closer to Easter, but so it goes.

Day 129 - The Green One - 19 Apr

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Roth) — Thu, 05 May 2011 22:33:00 +0000

Those of you who remember the early eighties may have been part of a conversation like this:

I was playing electronic football
Cool. Which one?
The green one.

You also know the main advantages The Green One had over The White One (being able to pass and move backwards).

Handheld video games have come quite a ways since then, but you can't tell me that kids today have more fun then we had 30 years ago.

Day 128 - Little Wing - 18 Apr 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Roth) — Tue, 03 May 2011 22:09:00 +0000

Solar lights are cool. Like fireflies and all glow in the dark stuff, they are magic to me. Maybe that is why we are starting to accumulate a collection of solar lights around the heron feeder. I started out trying to take a picture of the waterfall (which you can see in the picture if you use your imagination) then this bird caught my eye.

Day 127 - The Big One -17 Apr 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Roth) — Mon, 02 May 2011 22:06:00 +0000

I am not the only one on a 365 day odyssey. We all gathered to celebrate the first of many 365 day odysseys by my niece, Clara. I don't think she took many photos during her first 365 days, but she certainly had plenty taken of her. She is quite photogenic, and not just because she is a baby. So, congrats to Clara - hope you enjoyed the cake (you seemed to) and hope I get cake when I finish this odyssey.

Day 126 - Shade Wall - 16 Apr 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Roth) — Sun, 01 May 2011 12:48:00 +0000

"Some days you win. Some days you lose. Some days it rains"

I was not thinking about the weather when I took this picture. It was just another rockin' Saturday night with a visit to Target for I don't remember what. Eventually Mother Nature will make you pay attention to the weather however - like when the weather comes waterfalling into your house.

Now I am thinking about and hoping for many dry days full of sunshine. But...

"Since when can weathermen predict the weather, yet along the future?"

Day 125 - Heat Wave - 15 Apr 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Roth) — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 22:16:00 +0000

Still working on that thing where I am trying to take more portraits. When my friend came by and was sitting on my porch, drinking my beer, and chatting with my wife while I was trying to work, I thought it would be a good chance.

If you know this person, I hope you think this picture did a good job in summing her up. She is a happy, social person who enjoys good friends and good beer and will wear a sweater when it is 80 degrees out.

Make your own jokes about the name of the beer.

Day 124 - Who's The Bloom King? 14 Apr 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Roth) — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 22:00:00 +0000

This flower grows on the side of the house I usually don't go to unless I am mowing the lawn (and no, wise-guys, I don't mean the outside).

I know you are thinking, "But, Andy, then why did you plant it there?"

Hey Nosey-Nosington, why don't you mind your own business!

Day 123 - Cruppet - 13 April 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Roth) — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 00:24:00 +0000

Of all the things I made in fifth grade, very few survive to this day. Sure, most of what I made in fifth grade was witty repartee and sarcastic asides, and those only live on in memory and legend.

This, however, is something tangible that I created in my make-a-puppet-of-myself-holding-a-smaller-puppet-of-myself phase.

This Cruppet, as it was called, was part of an ensemble that included Cruppets of other fifth graders and one of Ben Franklin. Do they also survive? Curious minds would like to know.

Day 122 - The Other Way of Stopping 12 Apr 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Roth) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 22:19:00 +0000

You can look into this picture for some deeper meaning if you'd like. Please me know if you find some.

Day 121 - Hippofrogomous - 11 Apr 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Roth) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 00:53:00 +0000

Now we have frogs living in our heron feeder. There are at least three of them, at least two of which can sing very loudly when I have my window open at night. Usually when I approach any of them, the vanish more quickly then my resolution to give up ice cream. This guy however is not shy, and was glad to pose for Roth365.