November 8, 2023
Out with the apple and in with the pumpkin! It is that time of autumn when the pumpkins have served their decorative purpose and can now finish out their lives as sweet and savory treats. The first pumpkin I processed was the yellow one, so that orange hue is not Read more…
November 5, 2023
So when she sketched a picture of the cake she wanted for her birthday, I got to work. It would need brightly colored layers; it would need to be a unicorn. And it would need to be done without having to hit the grocery store. A big 1.5 batch of Read more…
November 4, 2023
Ok, so this amusement park isn’t abandoned per se, but it is vacated for the winter season… shut down and stripped of its colorful cars… and exuding the same eerie energy. I captured the vacant color close to dusk on a brisk autumn day. The structures seemed to pang for Read more…
As I moved from one cemetery to the next one on my itinerary, I happened to pass see this on en route. I quickly pulled in, spying some monuments of height. Once I took a closer look, I was blown by its beauty, blown away by the woeful women who Read more…
Missing Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, I crafted a graving itinerary to explore some of the area cemeteries. I set off realizing the effort might be in vain, given the size and beauty of where I come from. But I was happily surprised to find three gorgeous historic cemeteries that reignited Read more…
November 2, 2023
It was time to bake a batch of cupcakes for a special girl’s 7th birthday. And because class sizes are so large, they had to be little itty bitties. So the perfection of VCTOTW‘s basic chocolate cupcake would do the trick. All done Just a small piping of vanilla buttercream Read more…
November 1, 2023
Even though I no longer teach, I would still follow the tradition I have grown so accustom to… setting up my ofrenda and honoring the lives of dearly departed. This year, a Calavera cake after I came across this pan. I imagined it decorated to the nine’s. This was a Read more…
October 31, 2023
Time is moving quite oddly. Here is to another month of time’s reckless stomp. It started with a haircut. This is when I thought “Boy, I am not in Brooklyn anymore.” This is the before… And the after… meh. Anyway, a beautiful sunrise in the backyard. Busy mornings as the Read more…
A quick photodump of Halloween’s antics.. . Silly photoshoots Googly eyes This was a great event at The Little… Nosferatu with a live score (containing a singing saw) It was really cool! Ridiculous Halloween filters Update on the Halloween wreath… gotta get back into crafting More silly photoshoots We found Read more…
October 28, 2023
You looking at me? I made some Halloween treats for a party… which means the eyeballs came out of the pantry once again. So let me talk about candy eyeballs for a bit. In the past, every time I looked at a package of candy eyeballs I saw that they Read more…
Time for the beautiful full moon to grace my page once again. I swear I will work on doing some composite images with some foreground next time. But I never grow tire of this image. . the moon in all its crater-y form beaming proudly. These shots were taken in Read more…
October 27, 2023
Marge’s Lakeside Inn is a bit of an area institution. The kind that doesn’t need a website or Instagram. A timeless place that exudes nostalgia… nostalgia of a time I caught the tail end of, thankfully. We stopped in for a drink after being lulled by the u2 cover band Read more…
I didn’t know so many kinds of plants shed their green for a vibrant yellow, orange or red hue until I experienced my first autumn in Rochester! To follow some of my foliage discoveries. Rose bush leaves change color, but each leaf at its own pace… The Japanese Maple (we Read more…
October 25, 2023
Did you know that the tradition of carving pumpkins comes from Irealand? They used to carve turnips to keep the spirit of “Stingy Jack” who was denied admittance in both heaven and hell and so was left to roam the Earth for all eternity. This tradition was then incorporated into Read more…
October 21, 2023
Austin Dam Memorial Park In all its spectacular color, and in spite of the persistent rain, we went to see the sights at Austin Dam Memorial Park in Austin, Pennsylvania. The ruins of the dam are in it of itself cause for a stop in… but in autumn, the surrounding Read more…
To celebrate my birth so long ago, we headed south to Pennsylvania’s Potter County for a stay in a cabin in the mountains. I chose this location for a few reasons. For one, it is very near to the dark sky park Cherry Springs State Park. In the unlikely event Read more…
October 20, 2023
It is now my birthday weekend, so that means I call all the shots. So on the way south to our cabin accommodations, I wanted some decay. Since Allegany County Poorhouse is along the way, we stopped in. This is an epic room of newspapers that is completely wide open Read more…
October 19, 2023
A stroll through Riverside Cemetery in Rochester brought some gorgeous shots of the area’s peak foliage. As the area continues to brighten in hue, I acclimate. There is just beauty everywhere. I will be basking until the trees are barren and winter overtakes. The trees overtaking headstones
October 18, 2023
With a bunch of black cocoa to use and Halloween around the corner, I tried a batch of brownies in my heart-shaped pan. I used Rainbow Plant Life‘s recipe but, though gorgeous, they were way too wet. However, I will give them a try again as the rivaled crackled top Read more…
October 17, 2023
Since we have deep fryer capabilities, I thought I’d whip up a deep-fried recipe for my next apple endeavor. Using Make It Dairy Free’s recipe, I prepped an easy dough then waited for the oil to come to temperature. Once the oil was ready, the greasy fun began! Ah, glistening Read more…
October 16, 2023
On the way home, I had to hit another sprawling abandoned campus, missing their proximity dearly. I stopped at Letchworth Village in Rockland County. The foliage was gorgeous.
October 15, 2023
After my birthday dinner I headed to Mount Misery… a kind of infamous place on Long Island, with most youth having ventured there for some supernatural thrills at least once in their life. I remember driving there with fellow misfits looking for something to scare us silly. This time, however, Read more…
So now the main reason for my visit downstate… My birthday celebration with family! Since I will be away for my actual birthday, it was an early start. Celebrity status at my parents’ 🤣 A vegan pizza delivered from True Food Kitchen, one of my favorite vegan pizzas. The Roasted Read more…
I love an old cemetery, a plot of land that hasn’t gone the way of the parcels around it. The walk about it much like the how the walk was hundreds of years ago. I step to meet its characters. Some illegible from the passage of time, some sharp, some–a Read more…
October 14, 2023
Of all the places I miss in the New York City area, it is the Kings Park Psychiatric Center that hits most. Such a massive campus of decay, I chose the Quads. Desolate and sounding like a rain-powered xylophone, I spent some time in its halls once again. As always, Read more…
