December Theme Day: Shop Windows - Why Stop at One?

When this particular Theme day appeared, 

the first shop I thought of was The Flying Cupcake.

I headed there to buy a couple of their treats

and then realized I was standing in the midst of

an entire block of shops, bars, and

restaurants that deserve attention.

From the inside of TFC, one can look outside

to see other sources for gifts and goodies

right across the street.

One of the most popular is Three Dog Bakery, 

that makes treats for the fur people

with whom we share our homes and lives.

Today's special was tempting,

even to me. Snickerdoodles are my

favorite cookie treat.

Back across the street, there is the Small Mall,

a narrow storefront that offers holiday and seasonal decor

in its entry way, tempting shoppers to explore what

turns out to be three floors of vintage furniture,

contemporary crafts and artwork. 

There are also offerings of mid-century

pieces for the home, as well as numerous items

to entertain the diverse tastes of one's 

families and friends.

(I found hand-knitted caps and mittens

that are both unique and cozy.)

Last but not least, I stopped in at

Mass Avenue Toys. They have stuff for the

smaller folks in our lives, more unique

and less commercial than the usual items purveyed

by the bigger stores. One can find gifts

that aren't too expensive, on up to what

seems to me to be rather pricey.

I like it there because they have toys to

encourage a child's intellect and creativity.

It's where I'll go to find some little 

things for my grandnieces and nephews

this Christmas.

To see how other members of 

the City Daily Photo community

have interpreted the theme, just click on 

the above link, or on the CDP badge 

to the right of this post.

The Trees Know

So far this fall, our weather has been milder

 than in recent years. That is such a blessing. 

Last winter was prolonged and miserable,

with temperatures plummeting in early autumn 

and not rising until late spring.

Even so, the trees know it's time for 

their torpor; leaves are falling like rain. 

These ginkos have created a golden carpet 

at the entrance to the Massachusetts Avenue 

shopping area, just off downtown Indy.

August Theme Day: Bicycles

I was wondering what sort of pictures I would 

use to illustrate today's theme.

Unlike more sophisticated/progressive cities 

the world over, Indianapolis has only, in recent years, 

begun to urge people to commute to work and 

to do their errands using bicycles as a convenient, 

environmentally friendly mode of transportation.

That has started to change in dramatic fashion,

as many of the city's streets now have

bike lanes, and the city buses are all equipped

with bike racks to aid people who both

ride the bus and use their bikes to commute.

On Saturday, today, the 8th Annual Mass Ave Criterium 

was held. Utilizing a street course 

laid out in the neighborhood just northeast of 

downtown Indy, the MAC is a cycling event made up 

of timed races for riders of various categories of experience 

and ages, male and female. (As I type this,

the Men's Pro 90-minute race has just started.)

While it's a joy to see so many lean, fit people,

I find the sport about as interesting as some folks 

find drying paint. However, entire families showed up,

both to compete and/or to watch the races.

The little girl above was accompanying her father,

attached to his bike on a sort of third wheel,

while the father below brought his son and daughter

to watch the races.

Earlier this year, the city also initiated a system 

of bicycle rental kiosks. Yeah, yeah, while this is popular

in other countries, Indy has been slow to adapt, 

but the people have not. The bicycles have proved 

to be very popular with both citizens and visitors alike; 

I often pass by kiosks that are virtually empty of bicycles 

as they have all been taken for use.

 This blog is a member of the City Daily Photo portal.

To see how other participants from all over the world 

have chosen to interpret today's theme,

just click on the above link or on the CDP badge 

to the right of this post.

Stuff I Saw

These pictures were taken outside two different homes, 

though in adjacent neighborhoods. By coincidence,

the colors in both images are similar -- red, tan, and green.

Although I liked the position of the lamp

in the window shown in the bottom image, the sight

of the black wire snaking its way from the roof eave, around

the window to the connection box is discouraging.

Couldn't they have at least used tan or beige wire? 

Talking Bricks

A couple weeks ago, I took myself on an odyssey to get a treat

from The Flying Cupcake shop on Massachusetts Avenue.

I didn't walk a straight line up the street to  the bakery, 

but one more like the flight path of a monarch butterfly as I

took the opportunity to explore a few of the alleyways.

I enjoy looking at old brick, seeing the oxidation and wear

time has made on the structures. In fact, I feel as though I can

even smell the bricks; on sunny days it seems as though

the bricks are telling me their stories in the clay-ey

aromas radiating from their surfaces.

September Theme Day: Pink

"Pink."

Pink is easy. It could be anything from one of my bras, a girly cupcake

 or frilly Barbie clothes. I have it in a million shades 

of lipstick and blusher. I've given glittery pink shoes to my

nieces for Christmas. My swimsuit is a color called

"geranium." But a CDP Theme Day photo? Not one in sight.

I took a walk Friday afternoon along Massachusetts Avenue,

thinking that one of the old brick buildings might be an appropriately

sun-baked shade of brick, but they only brought to mind colors called

terre cotta or sienna. Then I saw this art installation at the corner 

of Mass Ave and Park. Titled "Reclamation," 

the piece was created by artist Lesley Baker using 

especially glazed brick, steel, and cement board.

Intended as a temporary public art project, 

the piece has been in place since 2008.

To see how other participants have interpreted this month's theme, 

click on the link above, or on the CDP badge 

near the top right corner of this post.

Love is in the Air. Maybe. If You Put Down Your Effing Phone!

I wander around the city with my camera in my pocket.

I see wondrous and beautiful things and I'm sad

that my eye is not more aware; I'm absolutely certain 

that I miss twice as much as I see.

I went downtown Friday afternoon to perform a couple errands. 

Everywhere I go people are incessantly using their phones. 

I don't understand why; to my way of thinking, the only people who 

need to be available 24/7 are surgeons and POTUS.

Everything else is just noseyness and busy-work.

Quaker Then/Qaekr Now

The merchants along Indy's Massachusetts Avenue make efforts 

to restore and retain anchors of our past, as evidenced by

the overlapping generations of painted signs on the side of this building.

Not far away, a tagger calling himself "Qaekr" has called back

the familiar face from Quaker Oats advertising,

adapting the iconic portrait for the slaps he sticks onto

lamp posts, mail boxes, walls, and street lights.

While I didn't immediately see an example of the artist's

graffiti, photos of his work and the sticker from all around 

the Midwest have been posted on-line.

Crystals and Harley

Wednesday was an odyssey. After lunching with friends, 

I went in search of a coconut cupcake.

I headed east towards Massachusetts Avenue

and The Flying Cupcake, a sliver of an old

storefront barely big enough for a display case, a few small

tables, a refrigerator, and an astounding array

of flavored, colored, and prettily decorated delights.

The Flying Cupcake is one of several small shops around Indy, 

supplied by the main store and bakery just north of the downtown area.

I've also encountered Petunia, the bakery's rolling store, that offers

the yummy cakes to customers unable to get to a store.

The atmosphere of the little storefront on Massachusetts Avenue

is friendly, it's shabby-chic interior bearing no trace

of a corporate game plan lurking amid the frosted treats.

Yay, for that. 

I'd waited a month, through snow and wind chill

to indulge my longing for "Coo-coo Coconut."

I left with a pretty pink box containing the coconut cake,

plus one each of "Here Comes the Bride" with a tiny sugar

bride and groom on top, and a chocolate one

called "Peppermint Twist."

Could I make them last with a treat every other day? 

The odyssey carried on. I'd walked about a mile to get to the store, 

then walked back towards the downtown area to go to the camera store, 

well over a mile away. Then I wandered some more, stopping 

and starting, my little treasures in my tote, while I took

a batch of pictures. Just before I got the bus for home, 

I stopped at a shop to warm up with a nice hot latte -

and the little sugar bridal couple disappeared, savored slowly

bite by bite, while I waited for the bus.

One two down, one two to go.

Presents for the Kids

After shopping for Christmas presents at Mass Ave Toys,

 I stopped in at the Starbucks across the street from the store for

some hot coffee, well,  really, for one of my favorite foo-foo coffee drinks,

The place was busy with customers, shoppers and residents from

the surrounding neighborhood.

The place was warm and dark, one of the numerous businesses 

that inhabit the restored storefronts in the area. I think the neighborhood's 

success is due in great part to the fact that the brick, mortar and wood

are to human scale, where people don't feel as anonymous as they

might in the bigger, slick constructions just a few blocks away.

I liked the light fixtures in the coffee shop, with their light cord 

wound on old wooden pulleys.

Yesterday's rainstorm brought a cold front, accompanied 

by the season's first snowfall. People and their cars all trod carefully

on the frozen walks and streets, many finding shelter in the numerous

restaurants and pubs in the neighborhood. The Old Point Tavern,

at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Alabama Street,

is a standby, the second-oldest pub in Indy.

The line of red lights at the left mark Mass Ave Toys, 

while sculptor Julian Opie's electronic dancing woman 

marks the corner.

April Theme Day: Cobblestones

As a member of the City Daily Photo blog community, 

each month I look forward to sharing a picture

based on an assigned theme. 

Unfortunately, that portal was hacked and some

of the CDP members set up a website where

we might post pictures of our April theme,

Cobblestones. However, I can't recall

where I last saw cobblestones in Indianapolis,

so was happy to find this nicely bricked

alley-way just off the downtown area, 

along Massachusetts Avenue.


To see contributions to this theme by other 
CDP participants, click here.
Hooray! The City Daily Photo portal
has been restored. To see contributions  
on the CDP portal 
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

A Place for the Tired

During my walk along Massachusetts Avenue, I passed a nice park bench 

outside a neighborhood pub. Painted glossy black, it had the 

distinction of being "upholstered," with arms and backrest,

made from sections of tires. At first, I thought the tires were from old

automobiles, turned inside out. That is, I did until I realized I could read the

manufacturers' names along the rims. This being Indy, 

maybe they're used racing tires: Decorated with streaks

of white paint and glamed up with some large rhinestones,
 they have no tread, making them useless for anything
more stressful than decorative cushions.

Theme Day: Electricity

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know it's out of focus and all jiggly looking, 

but I like it anyway. We were out on our weekly training

walk when I saw these blue lights wrapped around

trees along Massachusetts Avenue. It's a neighborhood

just northeast of the main downtown area, full of

art galleries, shops, restaurants and bars. The blue lights

seem friendly and twinkly. I like twinkly.

Electricity is City Daily Photo's theme for

the month of March. To see other contributions 

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants