Perspective

Oddities in the architecture of a local college were too much for my camera to resist. Such textures, colors, and shapes!

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This tradition-loving girl has to admit that modern architecture is good for something, after all -- if only to keep one's camera happy.

A Pink-and-White Beauty

Just down the block from our church is The Pink House, a lovely and elderly Victorian lady. I suppose her name isn't very creative -- but it just seems to fit.



And is she ever pink! She's undergone some interior renovations in the past few years, which have only increased her beauty and made the space more usable for our church.



Now that it's the Christmas season, she's also looking a bit more festive:



I couldn't resist taking some pictures when we stopped by yesterday. We're planning to have the bridal party get ready at the Pink House, which I'm quite excited about!



Today marks exactly one month to that much-awaited, much-prepared-for day. Not that anyone's counting... *wink*

Echoes of a Martial Past

This past Saturday our family visited a local fort, built only a few decades before the Civil War.

 

From the land, the fort is practically invisible until you stumble into the 20-feet deep dry moat. The inner fort is surrounded by a scarp gallery which offers defense on all sides. The bricks for the arches were hand-filed. It was cool and peaceful in the empty passage:

 Through one of the rifle slots you can see the water battery, which was designed by the Spanish to control the bay beyond:

Set into the hill on the other side of the moat is another gallery, whitewashed and sunspeckled:

 

An underground passage leads from the center of the fort to the water battery.

 

When they say "dark" and "steep," they mean it! There is no lighting in the passage to help you maneuver the mixture of steep grade and steep steps.

 But fortunately, we made it to the other side without incident! There's quite a bit of granite at the fort, used as a base for the cannons to swivel on. There's enough to make a very nice kitchen countertop...

It's fascinating to see how military defenses were built two centuries ago. Considering that this fort has lasted almost two hundred years, I think its designers and builders deserve some credit!

A Walk Through Yesteryear

Last Wednesday my mother, sister, and I took advantage of some free time to explore the historic downtown area of a neaby city. While our Florida coastline doesn't hold much in the way of history (our hurricanes have taken care of that!), a few square blocks of our city offer a respite from modern life.

I fell in love with this church the first time I saw it several years ago. Built in 1832, it's the second-oldest church building in Florida and it resides just a few hundred yards from the Bay. Inside, Gothic rafters span the vaulted ceiling:



Simple and lovely.



A fountain in the park across the street:



A few blocks away from the church, this 1825 beauty also has a view of the Bay:



April:



My sister and I relaxing in the Historic District:



Pretty in Pink:

Preserving the Past

“Watch an old building with care; guard it as best you may, 

and at any cost, from any influence of dilapidation. 

Count its stones as you would jewels of a crown; 

set watches about it as if at the gates of a besieged city; 

bind it together with irons when it loosens; 

stay it with timbers when it declines. 

Do this tenderly, and reverently, and continually, 

and many a generation will still be born and pass away beneath its shadow.”

John Ruskin