PJ's Studio: 2026

Sunday, February 15, 2026

Pale pink roses

Since I only posted one photo of the pretty pink bouquet that Edward bought me,

I figured a few more pics were called for.

And while I was at it, I pulled some more photos of pale pink roses from my archives.

These are from the Amherst roof garden.

I selected them for not only their pretty colors,

but also their pretty scent.

With so many pink varieties to choose from,

I figured why not?

I don’t think that I have ever managed to visit the NY Botanical Gardens in the Bronx during peak rose time.

Perhaps this will be the year. 😊

Here are some previous blogs of pink roses…

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2015/02/pink-roses.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2022/07/pink-roses-2.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2018/03/european-roses.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2012/02/amherst-roses.html

Enjoy!

Sunday, February 8, 2026

Grand Canal, Venice Italy

The Grand Canal in Venice is iconic.

We can probably thank Francesco Guardi for that.

He began sharing its beauty in the 1700’s.

Monet did his bit too.

No wonder it’s a tourist mob scene these days!

The buildings in Venice date back to the 1300’s, when the city was at its peak.

Venetian Gothic Architecture is a confluence of the Gothic,

Byzantine and Islamic styles.

The city was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987,

and is sometimes referred to a living museum.

But recently a renovated mansion – the Palazzo Dario was listed for sale.

Unfortunately, it may be cursed.

https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/real-estate/a69925611/palazzo-dario-venice-grand-canal-for-sale/

Did I mention that The Grand Canal in Venice is iconic?

(2/22/26)

Here are some previous Venice blogs…

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2012/05/venice.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2016/06/venice-2.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2018/02/venetian-masks.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2024/06/venice-4-access-fee-alert.html

Happy Winter Olympics!

Sunday, February 1, 2026

Central Park White Out - P3

Central Park was created in 1858 by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux.

It is 843 acres - 2.5 miles long by ½ mile wide – running from 59^th Street to 110^th Street.

42 million people visit Central Park every year.

It’s a tale of two cities.

Belvedere Castle on 59^th Street is the dividing line.

From the castle south – tourists. Lots of tourists.

North of the castle – locals.

While the tourists were slipping on Bow Bridge –

locals were walking, sometimes with others, sometimes with dogs.

And, in the afternoon, the parents with kids and sleds arrived.

Central Park NYC has something for everyone!

Here are the other Central Park white out blogs…

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2025/12/central-park-white-out-121425.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2026/01/central-park-white-out-121425-p2.html

And here are a few more Central Park snow blogs…

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2014/02/central-park-february-3-2014.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2020/12/snow-day.html

Cheers!

Sunday, January 25, 2026

Glendalough Illuminated

This is the first piece in an embroidery series inspired by our trip to Ireland in July 2001 and the beauty of Irish illuminated manuscripts.

For the background I combined two photographs taken at Glendalough – the place where the Irish saved civilization.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glendalough

https://www.amazon.com/How-Irish-Saved-Civilization-Irelands/dp/0385418493

Then I drew an illuminated “G” based on a classic design.

Combined it looked like this. Then I printed it on linen, and added the embroidery.

Here’s the finished piece again.

Here’s a look at some other embroidery posts…

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2012/07/embroidery-chat-eiffel.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2012/07/embroidery-tall-coral.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2014/01/embroidery-rialto-bridge.html

Cheers!

Sunday, January 18, 2026

Gingerbread Houses p2

This year’s display of gingerbread houses at the Museum of the City of New York is wrapping up today, so I thought I’d post a second set of photos.

I’m not sure why someone decided to build a power plant, but it does have some cool structures.

Could anything be more NYC than Santa stuck in traffic on the Brooklyn bridge?

Maybe Broadway dancers?

The Bronx Botanical Garden is a favorite of course.

Here’s a link to the pics from this year’s Van Gogh sunflowers exhibit.

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2025/09/sunflowers-nybg.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2025/11/nybg-sunflowers-2.html

And one of their waterlilies.

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2025/10/water-lilies-nybg.html

But probably what hit me hardest was this one of the Christopher Street subway station complete with homeless person. Sadly, I have often seen them at this stop.

The Westside tennis club in Forest Hills is another NYC classic.

And you can never go wrong with a lighthouse.

But this Santa caught my eye because it reminded me of the window display I did for the bookstore at Northeastern while I was in graduate school. Someone asked me if I could make Santa Black and I said “Sure.” (He is a fictional character after all. 😉)