skippy haha

Contains milk but milk is not an ingredient.

2012-02-25T13:21:00.001-05:00

speaking of nekkid basketball

2012-02-24T08:24:00.001-05:00

i've said before the local commercials around here are weird, but this is the latest weirdest.

it's a personal injury law firm. two older male lawyers dressed in business suits are on a high school basketball court.

with a girl in a half shirt and tiny mini skirt.

inexplicable.

who is she? why is she there? is she a lawyer too? secretary? just a woman for hire? how is this related? or relevant? in any way?

sex sells. but does it sell lawyers? makes them seem lecherous and sleazy and distracted to me.

save the sluts for the beer ads, i want my lawyers in libraries.

Why do they play basketball nekkid at nc state?

2012-02-22T06:40:00.001-05:00

february in chapel hill

2012-02-20T14:20:00.001-05:00

red bud trees are already blooming. it was in the 60's and sunny

pasty legs were bared at the beautiful new baseball stadium.

we went to chapel hill for the unc vs. clemson basketball game. my brother gave us tickets for christmas. he said the seats were right behind the bench, and i knew they would be good, but i really had no idea how good.

turns out row b really does mean row b. as in row 2. as in there's the players' bench, a row of chairs for the jv team, row a and then row b. we were SO CLOSE.

close enough to hear the ref bark at leslie mcdonald 'find your seat' when he was dancing at tip-off.

close enough to hear roy williams scream at the bench after a turnover "THAT WAS CARELESS AND CASUAL!" i plan to use this phrase in anger for the rest of my life.

the black falcon made this shot, the heels won, played well, i didn't get any good pictures, other than the ones in my head, and those i will treasure always.

we followed the crowd out and somehow ended up in a room with balloons and punch bowls overflowing with brownies. score!

after the game we met up with old friends and new friends for too many drinks and dinner on franklin street. not much has changed at all in 10 years. it was glorious.

this is a damn shame and some more alcoholic readers may want to avert their eyes - but in classic bob-fashion, he ordered another round of drinks when nobody had finished their first ones, and then promptly left to avoid babysitter-fury when they realized the time. the extra drinks spell "bob."

this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and i am so grateful to have a brother who made it possible!

tree e

2012-02-16T14:11:00.001-05:00

whitney houston

2012-02-13T13:21:00.004-05:00

the first* real concert i ever attended was whitney houston at the providence civic center in 1986. she was unbelievable. that voice. that VOICE.

boston garden 1986

i learned about whitney after spending much of that year in the back of a woody jeep wagoneer limited being driven back and forth between rhode island and long island.

we listened to her debut album "whitney houston" over and over. and over.

it was a tape we all could agree on. (unlike lionel richie "dancing on the ceiling" which was thrown from the car window in a fit of scorn along route 95 in connecticut.) i memorized every word. the lyrics taught me all a 10 year old needed to know about love and relationships. "how will i know" "someone for me" "all at once" and of course "greatest love of all" - i feel like i LIVED these songs! in the 5th grade!

her voice was like a damn bell. this is before auto-tune and computers, she was a huge natural talent. huge.

sorry she's gone too soon, sorry her path was a disaster, but her debut album will always have a giant place in my heart.

*the first not-real concert i attended was rosenshontz. they were awesome and incredible in their own way.

unhatched chicken counter

2012-02-10T12:52:00.001-05:00

the past week has been a rollercoaster of emotion.

hopes have soared, hopes have soured, hopes have soared again, hopes have been put on hold. and on hold. and on hold.

for reasons unknown. and unfathomed. and unfathomable.

...

the bottom line is we hope to buy a house. on a river. really, really on a river. it's not perfect, it's not the one and only, if it falls through we are fine where we are and will be fine if we buy something else in the future. but nacho and eli have not uncrossed their paws since they heard about the river.

we will see!

Let's put on leotards and do sit ups attached to the dresser.

2012-02-02T12:48:00.001-05:00

carolina vs. nc state: starting 5: smile ratio

2012-01-31T13:00:00.000-05:00

all of unc basketball starting 5 headshots are smiling, some broadly.

none of nc state's are.

i wonder if it correlates to player happiness.

i wonder if it correlates to campus happiness.

i wonder if it correlates to player talent.

i wonder if it correlates to photographer's attractiveness.

ball bouncing game

2012-01-26T11:50:00.001-05:00

m my name is marilyn and my husband's name is merlin, we come from maryland and we sell marlin

hunger and whistling

2012-01-24T12:03:00.001-05:00

i am hungry.

for the first time in 5 days.

which makes me ecstatic!

i don't know if it was stomach virus, flu, or food poisoning. all i know is that i've had no appetite since last thursday. frowing up, spare you the details, bad news. my last meal was probably the culprit but since there's no way to *really* know the cause, i'm just going to look at the last thing i ate and whistle.

[looks at picture above and whistles] [goddamn you taco truck chicken]

this was a trick of my great late grandfather named flops. when he wanted to blame somebody, he would say "i'm not going to name any names, i'm just going to look at the person who did it and whistle." and then he would look at somebody in the room and whistle.

i'm gonna git you worm

2012-01-19T16:42:00.001-05:00

i babysat for a total of 1.75 hours today and felt like i deserve to funnel a case of beer and get $5000.

how the HELL do you people with kids do it?

how do you wash your hands while holding a baby? i was covered in milk, water, soap, baby fart medicine. after not even two hours. with one 7 month old adorable sweet boy who didn't fuss one time. not even a fuss face one time. and still i can't imagine tending to him 24/7.

congratulations, parents! you have all my respect.

wattle?

2012-01-16T10:37:00.001-05:00

person #1: would you like some more porter?

person #2: does a fat turkey have little...gobblers hanging down from its mouth?

happy birthday kelvin

2012-01-14T10:06:00.001-05:00

i wish he could revert to this age for a few minutes just so i could rumple his hair and squeeze his cheeks!

***** ALSO - please head over to his website: wnc debt law - he helps people having financial trouble in western north carolina (seems to be about everybody today) and blogs often about how to f your bank before your bank f's you.

two things i would like to share: he was a superstar pitcher in his youth and struck out a-rod with 3 pitches one time in a florida high school championship game. yes that a-rod. 3 pitches!

i have also witnessed him speak to an owl. he made an owl noise and a great owl swooped in and landed on a branch 20 feet away.

Vote for spelling bees

2012-01-12T08:55:00.001-05:00

retriever reunion

2012-01-09T14:15:00.000-05:00

get out your kleenex.

golden retriever squeals with joy at seeing her mom for the first time in a year.

her mom was in afghanistan.

hello to you hushpuppies

2012-01-07T13:09:00.001-05:00

luella's bbq

vet expansion

2012-01-05T11:38:00.001-05:00

the dogs' vet is undergoing a massive expansion. doubling in size. it was already nicer than my own doctor in there.

on one hand i think it's great the dogs can get top notch care right around the corner.

on the other hand, i think those fuckers must be overcharging.

feathery fireworks

2012-01-04T07:37:00.001-05:00

not sure why i didn't post this in july, but here it is 6 months later.

new print available - napa valley

2012-01-02T10:24:00.000-05:00

this image just absolutely blows me away.

if you or somebody you know has been to napa valley and had a good time, you might need to hang this image on your wall. i think this print is incredibly beautiful and dynamic. click on it to enlarge. and get lost inside.

via Jay Archibald:

it is from Oakville appellation in the Napa Valley, specifically it is on Oakville Cross Road, facing Howell Mountain to the east and Mt. St. Helena to the north. The vineyards in the photo, I believe, belong to Plumpjack, Groth, and Miner.It is comprised of 28 images.

print available for extremely reasonable price. makes an unbelievable present. contact me or jay directly for more info.

on top of the world

2012-01-02T10:07:00.001-05:00

on top of table rock mountain.

noon 1/1/12.

360 views.

almost 60 degrees.

rotisserie chicken and dogfish head beer.

glorious way to start 2012!

peace on earth

2011-12-31T11:42:00.001-05:00

happiest new year to all!

catch ya in 2012!

biscuits

2011-12-30T13:14:00.001-05:00

i have heard rumors for years that if the unc tar heels basketball team scores 100 points or more, bojangle's gives out free biscuits the next day.

last night the heels scored 100 against elon.

i googled 'free biscuits bojangles unc' etc. and couldn't find anything official or specific, but we headed down there anyway this morning.

the deal is: carolina scores 100 or more, you get 2 sausage biscuits for $1. not too shabby!

we didn't end up getting the sausage biscuit deal, but we did enjoy scarfing down a country ham and egg biscuit from the comfort of a lovely solarium with a downtown view for less than $3.

score!

solstice!

2011-12-21T12:02:00.001-05:00

it's finally here! the shortest day of the year! they're only getting longer, friends.

phew! we made it.

catch the feeling! (shoulder thrust)

2011-12-20T11:42:00.001-05:00

i am in love with this skyland auto girl. if i saw her on the street i would be completely starstruck and ask for her autograph.

she's been doing these car commercials for the past couple of years at least. she matches her outfits to whatever major holiday is going on. she ends almost every one with "catch the feeling!" and does a jaunty little shoulder thrust.

it's amazing.

local commercials are unbelievable around here. almost as good as flea market montgomery.

it's just like, it's just like, a mini-mall! hey hey!

ray of light

2011-12-17T14:15:00.001-05:00

primary

2011-12-16T11:23:00.001-05:00

last week kevin & i celebrated the 3rd anniversary of our first date.

december 10, 2008. wednesday night. i was living in asheville, he was living in charlotte. we met at a bar that neither of us had ever been to in hickory, about halfway between.

we hadn't seen each other for more than 10 years. we were friends in college in chapel hill in the late '90s. 'friends' might be pushing it - the truth is he was friends with my boyfriend, and i was living with his girlfriend. the 4 of us hung out together throughout that year, and i always liked him.

we reconnected through the magic of facebook in november and then decided to meet up for a drink. we ordered hawaiian pizza and didn't touch it. we had beer and eye contact and laughs and sparks and made plans to see each other asap. i drove to charlotte two days later with holden and nacho and stayed for 3 days at his fantastic house on a lake and the rest is history.

i can't say it's luck or destiny or hard work or familiarity or timing or what. we like to do a lot of the same things. our energy levels are about even. he is smart and funny and kind and honest and responsible. he is curious and adventurous and makes his own health and mental health a relative priority. i love his hair. i love his smile. i love making him smile. his family is funny and generous and eerily similar to my own, and he has excellent taste in friends.

i don't write about him or love or relationships too much here, maybe thinking sharing will dilute it, or maybe jinx it, or maybe because i know the anonymity of the web has evaporated in the past year or two and i am not comfortable with who is reading. i don't want it to seem like bragging, or sillyfluffy, or gag-inducing. i'm not very social and i'm not very open to the public, and i am glad for this blog to be a creative outlet, but if you're looking for deeply personal stuff, and you're not one of the 2-3 close friends i am able to maintain at any given time, you should probably watch some reality tv instead!

i put the picture of the tee box markers on top since there have been 3 years, which is by far the longest relationship i've been in.

there's been a lot of golden moments, and some blue, and some red. but mainly when i look back, they have been gold.

every kiss

2011-12-08T20:20:00.001-05:00

begins with "e" - every begins with e. dammit kay!

aim for the moon

2011-12-02T07:34:00.001-05:00

you'll run out of fuel

(or land in the stars)

conversations with sugar

2011-12-01T08:27:00.001-05:00

scene: kevin driving, me passenging. see the white squirrel in the tree. stop car. roll down window.

us: (yelling out the window) hey sugar! what are you doing? we love you sugar! yeah we love you sugar!

sugar: (looks at us. nibbles acorn. twitches cotton puff tail.)

us: hey sugar, wanna come home with us? we will feed you peanuts! you're a good boy sugar! we love you sugar! yeah we love you sugar!

sugar: (looks at us. nibbles acorn. hops further up the tree.)

us: you are so handsome sugar! you are the most handsome squirrel in the world! we love you sugar! yeah we love you sugar! come home with us! follow us home! you will be happy there! we will protect you from the dogs! we love you sugar!

sugar: (hops further up tree, out of view)

us: see you later sugar! we love you! (driving away so happy)

chasing wild turkeys

2011-11-29T07:04:00.001-05:00

some people chase wild turkey with budweiser. or burritos.

or more wild turkey.

if you chase them with a camera, they are easy to catch and just bob away.

Black Friday 2011 Coupon 25% off Sale Deal

2011-11-24T08:56:00.000-05:00

white squirrel!

2011-11-22T11:09:00.001-05:00

i've known there's a white squirrel near our house for a couple of years now but i never have my camera when i see him.

until today!

i felt like meryl streep with her ghost orchid in 'adaptation'!

i love you white squirrel!

puppies of fire

2011-11-20T09:44:00.001-05:00

judge a moth

2011-11-19T08:37:00.001-05:00

"judge a moth by the beauty of its candle" - rumi

exhausted by sandwiches

2011-11-16T08:06:00.001-05:00

angela sent me this photo of my nephew william this weekend, with the caption "Totally asleep at lunch."

skiphappy?

2011-11-15T08:59:00.001-05:00

I got a check (side note: I glady accept checks!) in the mail yesterday and the memo said "Shirts from Skiphappy."

I love this misprint!

tallahassee trip

2011-11-14T14:49:00.001-05:00

on the way to tallahassee last week, we passed this corner with two brand new drug stores. walgreens vs. cvs. there were no other stores of any kind around either of them. don't companies do research before building anymore? insane.

a little farther down the road we stopped at a chick-fil-a. the other half of the restaurant was called "Dwarf House." apparently there are a few of them in the area. it seemed like a denny's. again, insane.

friday morning we went downtown to the veteran's day parade. we saw the famu marching 100. the rattlers. i cried and cried when the floats of the families of kids who died in wars rode by. they had banners with the kids' names and pictures on them. good lord. there were many higher points like this fun "high five a vet" guy.

also strawberries were eaten by adorable little girls in sherpa jackets with polar bear ears attached.

later in the weekend i shucked 60+ of the most delicious oysters you could imagine. salty and cold and fresh. eli and nacho were very interested in this process. so interested in fact that after some of the oysters were dredged and fried and the peanut oil was dumped in the pine straw, nachodoggy the nitwit ate the pine straw and dirt and threw up brown shit all over kevin's mom's white carpet at 6am. good times!

finally, there was a birthday party for a really sweet 3 year old girl whose favorite color is YELLOW.

3 things i'm loving

2011-11-09T10:23:00.002-05:00

halloumi is the "cheese that grills." it's from cyprus. people from cyprus are called cypriots. it's made of sheeps' milk.

i have tried every mint tea on the shelf. many are weak. many taste like chlorine. many taste like sewage. this traditional medicinals organic peppermint tea is the best. it's strong and delicious and calms down the entire digestive tract.

yoga for athletes dvd. not woo-woo spacey. easy to follow. increased strength and flexibility. good times.

also a tip from alton brown. put a tiny bit of salt in with your coffee grounds before brewing.

peanut butter fat calories question

2011-11-04T12:30:00.001-05:00

hypothesis:

if 140 of 180 calories in natural peanut butter (just ground peanuts nothing added, maybe salt) come from fat, and you pour the inch of separated oil off the top upon opening, eating the stuff that's left is the equivalent of eating snow peas.

(disclaimer: i swear i don't count calories and i definitely don't count fat grams. i look at the food before me and say "did this grow on its own?" if so, i'll eat it. if not i'll say "did somebody i love make this?" if so, i'll eat it. if not i'll say "am i out to eat with somebody i love?" if so i'll eat it. if not i'll say "am i pmsing?" if so i'll eat it.)

smoked mussels halloween

2011-11-01T06:22:00.001-05:00

we had no trick-or-treaters last night.

which is good since we had no candy.

we agreed if any trick or treaters showed up we would put a handful of smoked mussels in their bag.

can you imagine a worse treat than smoked mussels? weird color. weird smell. weird texture. full of crap. their smoky fish oil would get all over the candy in your bag.

my late great grandfather named flops ran out of candy one halloween and put a meatball wrapped in paper towels into the kids bags, pulling out some of their candy to give to the next kid as he did so.

Mechanics lunches bottom shelf

2011-10-25T06:31:00.001-05:00

if your car has the sturdiness of a golf cart (2005 prius) and you park too close to the curb and you try to turn the wheel without moving far enough from the curb, you may crack an axle, bend an undercarriage, and break a tire in fewer than 2 seconds.

this may ruin your day.

this may also bring you to the waiting chairs at an autobody shop where the bottom of one of the drinks for sale coolers is reserved for mystery tupperware and half-drunk gatorades belonging to the employees.

blood

2011-10-18T10:08:00.000-05:00

my 33 year old brother chris had pulmonary embolisms on saturday. that means blood clots in the tissue between his heart and lungs.

he was in africa for two weeks for business and took a 20 hour flight back to the US last week. he closed on his first real house friday afternoon. he had chest pain friday and it was getting worse throughout saturday, and thought he pulled a muscle or cracked a rib. then he couldn't breathe and finally went to the hospital. he's lucky he didn't trow a seven.

he's expected to make a full recovery and be home later this week. and into their new home this weekend.

the picture above is from 1984 when my 33 year old mother was in the hospital for the exact same thing. my dad took us to the spring carnival by himself and we had our faces painted.

you never know when you'll want to grate cheese so it's good to have a rusted antique grater hanging on the wall.

whirlwind of fun

2011-10-13T15:37:00.000-05:00

the past week has been a veritable fun-a-palooza.

started with seeing the trey pistachio band at thomas wolfe auditorium. ripping! dance party! covered gorillaz 'clint eastwood' which has been in my head ever since.

continued the next night with all kinds of smoked meat and cheese in bite size portions at curate tapas bar with a table full of fun folks. the porron was a medieval device whereby you pour lemon beer all over your face and clothes. then onto louis ck show, again at thomas wolfe auditorium. which i noticed is having ceiling issues but is still a beautiful venue.

kevin's parents and their sweet ebony bitch rose came for a few days this week and we toured the biltmore house. i've been in asheville for over 4 years and never been down there. it was pretty spectacular. highlights were the hand-tooled leather wallpaper in one room, the cantilevered staircases, and the ridiculous view. the winery was also fun, because hey! free wine!

on to tupelo honey with the fried green tomatoes over goat cheese grits under strips of fresh basil. my mouth waters still.

spent time yesterday at the grovewood gallery at the grove park inn. when i saw 95% of the things in there i said "i LOVE that!" these chairs were amazing. the lamps! the benches! everything is handmade and so unique. if i had unlimited budget and an empty house, i'd go there first.

then i sold a t-shirt for $120 today. one t-shirt. i was kind of kidding with the price, but some lucky girl in pennsylvania was not. i was sad to see it go but hope it has a new fun life.

Crazy Critters and the Downtown Asheville Hurricane of Vintage T-shirts

2011-10-06T08:31:00.000-05:00

(originally posted at Skippy Haha Vintage blog)

I recently went downtown Asheville with a hamper of my finest Skippy Haha Vintage t-shirts.

Alli Marshall of Asheville StreetStyle had arranged for local rock band The Critters to meet up and shoot a video for their song "Visions of Light."

The rough concept was for them to try on a shirt, come through the Flat Iron, show the camera, go around back and try on another shirt, ad infinitum, until the hamper was empty. Something sped-up and lighthearted like the intro to the Monkees TV show.

What actually happened was, as the Mountain Xpress said - total mayhem. It was a hurricane of t-shirts, a t-shirt-ornado. No one could have been prepared for the energy and enthusiasm displayed by those Critters.

Here is the video, expertly edited by Steve Shanafelt of the Mountain Xpress. You can see me at the end, as shirts are being flung into the trees of Wall Street, silently screaming in my head "AAAAACKKK! My precious heirlooms! Save my precious heirlooms!"

No really, it was fun. Really fun. It was all over in under 10 minutes. I came home and washed all the shirts.

Mountain Xpress article here

2 tvs

2011-10-05T09:27:00.001-05:00

i realized last night that some television brings me feelings of peace; some television brings me feelings of agitation.

baseball and golf bring peace.

nature shows about cheetahs and polar bears bring me peace.

my inner landscape is flowing and free and soothed while watching.

99% of commercials, the news, bill maher, pro football, hyper-dramatic reality shows based on nothing but the drama between idiots bring me great agitation. i find myself talking back to the tv. out loud. twisted inside. in actual clenched physical pain watching these nitwits and the sensory overload of their mindless, shallow violence.

maybe i'm too critical or empathetic, but the pain i feel is real and toxic.

don't even get me started on entourage. is this the best we can do? as a culture, this is what we choose to glorify? money, drugs, and pornography? it's maddening!

bring on the peaceful easy tv.

honor system

2011-10-04T15:29:00.003-05:00

driving down near brevard yesterday morning i spotted this sweet farm stand selling fresh produce. it's hard to see but the sign on the table says "HONOR SYSTEM."

i didn't stop, but wish i had. (...just to steal a bushel of tomatoes! i kid.)

nachodoggy!

2011-10-01T10:09:00.001-05:00

nacho's fame grew exponentially last night when the dj on wwoz (new orleans jazz & heritage station) said his name, no fewer than 4 times, on the air in the middle of a blazing blues guitar set.

it's their pledge drive time and they had a roller girl on air reading new pledges in between songs. she said "we have a new pledge from kevin radey in asheville. and the comment is somewhat perplexing."

the dj said "what is it?"

she said "it says nachodoggy!"

"nachodoggy?"

"yeah nachodoggy!"

they went back and forth for seriously a minute about it laughing and wondering what is a nachodoggy, saying they didn't know but somebody out there was probably laughing about it.

hell yeah.

nachodoggy! labrador overbite!

starting to fall

2011-09-30T18:06:00.001-05:00

just barely

stool samples on ice

2011-09-29T09:25:00.001-05:00

why are there two pieces of poop in an ice-filled styrofoam cooler on the front step, you might ask?

nacho & eli have their yearly checkups today and the vet said we have to bring in a stool sample.

when kevin & i were talking about the logistics of this ridiculous task (shouldn't the vet do this?) yesterday, i said "i guess i will take them on walks after their breakfast and pick up some poop in a ziploc bag with their name on it. and put it in the refrigerator until the appointment."

he said "NO! not in the refrigerator! you know taste is 75% smell!"

i said "you have to refrigerate it so the parasites don't die, i will put the bags inside a tupperware which i will then throw away"

he said "can't you put it in one of the extra styrofoam coolers in the basement?"

and so it was done.

smiles!

2011-09-28T17:40:00.001-05:00

smiling is the facial expression that lets you inhale the most air because it gets your upper lip out of the way

do men with bushy mustaches take in less oxygen or inhale more forcefully?

why it's okay to rent part 75

2011-09-27T17:39:00.001-05:00

somebody's gotta come fix this and i don't have to pay for it.

(if i don't break my neck first)

(just kidding, it's not as bad as it looks)

(and most of that ivy is gone, in an afternoon fit of garden shearing frenzy)

castillo de pene?

2011-09-24T10:01:00.001-05:00

back at el chapala - poquito arte, muy sugestivo, no?

happy 90th birthday grandpa wallace

2011-09-20T11:54:00.001-05:00

my grandpa wallace turned 90 years old last friday.

the picture above is when he opened my present of asheville bear poop.

on saturday 18 of his family members spanning 4 generations gathered to celebrate at noon in the card room of the palm beach condo highrise where he has lived for the past 50 years.

he made his grand entrance fashionably late using ski poles as canes and playing 'happy birthday' on his harmonica.

he grew up in providence, rhode island, as one of 5 boys raised by a single mother whose father abandoned the family when the youngest was 1. he was in the air force during world war 2, and then had 3 kids (including my dad), and spent his life drawing and doing architectural delineation, which he continued to do until very recently when his eyes and hands stopped cooperating. he worked very hard, and very well.

he has a great sense of humor, and great love for his wife margaret, who was so classy and chic that we grew up calling her 'lady margaret.' he is a very snazzy dresser - palm beach resort style - wearing white pants and white keds every time i've seen him in the past 35 years.

we spent a lot of the party looking at amazing old photos and newspaper clippings. his younger brother john brought a picture from the providence journal of his senior prom. lady margaret was cool with it.

one of the most touching parts of the day was when he played a few songs on harmonica for my nephew willie. willie was entranced. he would finish one song and willie would say, "more!"

what a life! 90 years - can you freakin imagine?

i was issued some art

2011-09-15T11:02:00.001-05:00

i'd climb a tree for a date with you

2011-09-12T08:33:00.001-05:00

i love dates.

this is no secret.

i try to eat one a day at least. i eat them plain. i stuff them with peanut butter. or cashews. or goat cheese.

i bring them with me to almost every potluck i attend. medjool dates are so sweet and smooth. if you don't like them, i bet you've never tried them.

my friend betsy is trying to use all the extra food in her pantry, and had a half bag of dates and featured my 'recipe' on her awesome betsylife blog last week.

if you close your eyes and chew long enough, these things taste just like the old hostess funny bones.

twin towers march 1998

2011-09-11T12:43:00.002-05:00

this photo isn't black and white, it was a cloudy day.

this was also new york in '98, but on a much more sunny day.

i love my brain

2011-09-09T09:21:00.018-05:00

i am glad i'm not bald because my head is lumpy and soft. thank god i have hair to cover it. it's like it never hardened when i was a baby. or else i am slowly growing devil horns on the back. i've tried googling 'soft skull adult' etc. and can't find anything. i should probably ask a neurologist or something. in the mean time i should probably wear a helmet 24/7.

but, instead, i have decided i don't really want to wear a helmet ever again. i don't need that big of a rush that sports requiring helmets give a person. i fell off my mountain bike 15 years ago and dislocated my shoulder and decided i don't need to do that anymore. i don't miss skiing or want to learn to snowboard. i don't really want to do intense whitewater rafting. i don't want to jump out of a plane again. never say never, but i think i'm done with helmets.

i love my brain!

colorado for labor day

2011-09-07T13:55:00.112-05:00

i spent the past 5 days in colorado, and it was glorious.

on the first day kevin's brother teddy took us on a hike to diamond lake - which is not a dammed river, but a true mountain lake. good lord there's a difference.

we had great lunch and beer in boulder and listened to a barefoot hippie play classical piano in the middle pearl street.

we went to breckenridge and hung out with kevin's parents and his incredibly cute niece and nephew, piper and jack, for the weekend.

this is an actual conversation i had with piper:

(after hearing that rose, the 13 year old black lab bed hog climbed on piper's air mattress and slept with her all night, eventually pushing piper's legs off the bed)

me: it was cold last night, so rose was probably keeping you warm, and you were keeping her warm.

piper: yes, and she was keeping my heart warm!

i walked around the astonishingly beautiful breckenridge golf course and witnessed kevin's dad chip in from out of a bunker that was over his head. it was incredible!

i played no fewer than 50 games of hullabaloo.

we went to the phish show sunday night. it was my 3rd time seeing them and BY FAR the best. there was much platypus slapping and dance party USA. one strange coincidence was that they covered for the first time 'the way it goes' - gillian welch's new song that we heard her play (better) a few weeks ago at the orange peel. but cool of them to try! the whole night was a blast.

we flew back across the country on monday straight into a tropical storm and other than a few in-air and on-runway delays, we got home close to schedule. this lady was rolling this girl around the charlotte airport like so. not sure of the safety implications here.

i hope your labor day was labor-free and even 1/10 as much fun as mine.

under the rocks and stones

2011-08-31T07:49:00.002-05:00

there is water underground

same as it ever was, same as it ever was, same as it ever was, same as it ever was

sweetness!

2011-08-29T12:30:00.002-05:00

cock clock

2011-08-29T06:20:00.009-05:00

i wonder how many suicides are caused at least partially by the '60 minutes' stopwatch ticking.

it must be the most depressing sound on all of TV.

just listen as click click by click click your weekend disappears.

now have a fantastic monday!

chris birthday age 5

2011-08-27T06:52:00.003-05:00

happy birthday to my brother chris. quissy. crick-a-fuh. bucky. the most even-keeled, patient, calm, thoughtful, energetic and enthusiastic person i know!

i hope your crown doesn't have glue dripping down it.

look at those outer banks

2011-08-26T09:57:00.011-05:00

hurricane irene seems to be headed right for the outer banks.

when i look at this map, i can't believe the outer banks even exist at all anymore. they look so fragile and tenuous out there in their tiny string of sand.

i lived in kill devil hills for the summer of 1997. i waited tables at a restaurant named after an iguana.

good luck east coast.

sweet mountain cabin for sale

2011-08-25T12:57:00.001-05:00

my friends lindsay and josh are selling their super cute little mountain lodge in south asheville.

new roof! new A/C! new hardwood floors! so much more!

it is just so cozy and homey and NICE.

check out the listing details here.

you know you want to buy a house from people who look like this, imagine the good vibes that permeate the structure:

el chapala, mexican for great value

2011-08-25T07:33:00.029-05:00

i have frogged about el chapala before, but think the value of the tacos a la parilla warrants another post.

$7 for combination #11 - 1 beef burrito, 1 chicken taco, 1 chicken enchilada

$4 for a 34 oz (34 oz!) mug of dos equis (this is 10 oz free)

FREE HOT baskets of nachos and carafes of salsa

$4 for refried beans and rice (least value on table)

***BEST VALUE ON THE TABLE***

$2 for chicken 'tacos a la parilla' - bowl of fresh pico de gallo, two hot corn tortillas, and hot grilled chicken. for $2! $2! i want my $2!

stylized

2011-08-23T12:04:00.002-05:00

reminds me of pacific northwest native indian art.

willie!

2011-08-18T12:57:00.034-05:00

i just got back from fantastically fun family vacation to kiawah island, south carolina.

my nephew will is the cutest sweetest little kid. he is only 15 months old and he is already 3 feet tall. he has a wide-footed sturdy walking stance and gets around pretty well.

he likes to rest his feet on the table while he eats. he is very dextrous with a fork.

he chased two little girls in bikinis down the beach.

he loves to turn light switches off and on, and watch the lights. he likes reading books and studying objects.

he is very analytical and calm and wise already. and has fantastic hair.

he is good at throwing and kicking (dribbling) balls.

his favorite word is 'more!' he says it like 'mmmmaw.'

he also likes pulling hair. sometimes he throws up on airplanes.

he went out to a 2 hour dinner and didn't make a peep.

i think he will be an engineer. and a heart breaker.

plate of love

2011-08-09T09:22:00.013-05:00

you can really tell somebody loves you when they cut your roasted red pepper into the shape of a heart.

i am a lucky dog! or more accurately a lucky bitch!

friday

2011-08-06T08:53:00.004-05:00

yesterday i ran my left pinky toe as hard as i could into a concrete step.

i get no sympathy from a person whose pinky toes are permanently in this position, i'm told i don't need it and i kind of agree.

i killed a small black widow spider. on the freakin couch.

i wore a skirt for a dress. not outside the house.

i saw gilian welch & david rawlings.

my soul was stirred. there was banjo but it was low, slow & sincere & i liked it.

it was dangerously hot in the orange peel until we weaseled our way under the giant ceiling fan. dangerously hot.

i'll fly away!

scene: lying on the couch watching tv

2011-08-03T17:50:00.002-05:00

happy birthday MOM

2011-08-02T08:05:00.002-05:00

i hope you have a fantastic day! thank you for making my lunch every day (and dinner and breakfast) and driving me around everywhere for the first 17 years of my life!

and i wish you saved all your clothes from the 70s - 80s. you were always pretty stylin!

good use for the money section

2011-08-01T10:08:00.002-05:00

and they're off

2011-07-29T11:34:00.017-05:00

my money's on the chocolate dog.

5 minutes after eating the leftover prime rib

2011-07-28T10:39:00.018-05:00

you may remember nachodoggy won a contest a couple weeks ago for $25 gift card to outback.

we went last night and used it. that place is not great. it is not cheap! a (small) glass of wine was $7. to add 3 super-SUPER-measly dry shrimp (size of a poker chip) to your steak was $4. a salad was $12, and the dressing choices were ranch, bleu cheese, 1000 island, and bleu cheese vinaigrette.

anyway we had a gift card and it was nacho who won the contest so we brought home a few bites of prime rib and sweet potato for him to eat. he shared with his brown bro eli.

then they wrestled for 20 minutes. nacho's head was inside eli's mouth for 15 of those minutes.

leo!

2011-07-23T09:04:00.002-05:00

everybody's favorite shar pei - golden retriever is here for the weekend.

reo red panda!

he is even clownier than nacho, if that is possible.

he snorfles.

he snuggles.

he also is 'marking' the furniture. not sure how to get him to stop doing that.

his breed is golden pei, so what do i expect.

he also doesn't eat much. i just don't understand dogs that don't eat much. my dogs are obsessive vacuum eaters. reo gets top of the line newman's own wet food and looks at it just like 'eh, not hungry,' takes a bite and walks away.

mufasa & smashley

2011-07-22T12:30:00.018-05:00

kinda strange names, but i hope those kids make it.

seen in the ladies' room at the thirsty purple monk. after a highly overpriced and underwhelming dinner at a mexican place downtown with a name that rhymes with dimones, we walked over to the thirsty monk, which happened to be in medias celebratus of belgium's independence, with discount beers.

how fortunate!

yessss

2011-07-21T14:09:00.000-05:00

when you bank says no, champion says yessssss.

crazy basil

2011-07-20T08:22:00.002-05:00

shit's going berserkus.

pesto recipes, anyone?

i walk funny

2011-07-19T15:18:00.031-05:00

i'm pigeon toed. but probably not as pigeon toed as i would have been had my feet not been stuck in shoes attached to a bar hanging on my crib for the first year of my life.

i hated this bar and broke the wood on my crib by banging my feet against it trying to escape.

this medieval contraption is called a Denis Browne bar, and may or may not have something to do with my lifelong propensity for flight rather than fight.

google plus one

2011-07-18T10:20:00.000-05:00

there's a new button on the "share away" bar at the bottom of every post here. it's for google plus one. onto whose bandwagon i jumped last week. less jumped, more limped. if you are also using such technology, please enjoy.

checkin out the piggies

2011-07-18T08:49:00.026-05:00

went to charlotte this weekend for a super fun british open party. here is emmitt, a ridiculously cute nugget of 10 month old sweetness. how awesome are his cheeks? and his hair? and his name?

shady bluff, charlotte's rockingest trio also graced our ears with a noon set.

later i walked around the corner and found these two nutball sisters by themselves frozen and whispering. i said "what are you doing?" and they said "being statues." i said, 'can i take your picture' and they said "YES!" and here we are:

the dog lover - flying henry

2011-07-15T15:22:00.002-05:00

an artist named l.a. shepard from ontario canada paints these dog portraits. i think they're spectacular. and her story is particularly moving:

I have been a full time artist, specializing in animal portraiture, since my husband was diagnosed with brain cancer in July 2006. Since he could no longer work, we had to close our wholesale business. At 54 , I needed to find a way to support our family and take care of him 24/7. Luckily, I had my art ability to fall back on, and I have been painting diligently ever since.

this one is especially funny because my furry brother henry looks just like this but refuses to go outside in the snow. my dad shovels him a path in the backyard to do his business.

the dog lover's paintings on etsy: here

congratulations! nacho!

2011-07-15T13:27:00.018-05:00

every month or so we get a light magazine full of local asheville coupons. on the back page of the last one was a contest asking you to find "mr. moon" the (asheville tourists single A baseball team's new mascot) hidden in one of the ads inside. email your answer to enter the contest.

nacho doggy found mr. moon and emailed and won the contest!

4 free tickets to mccormick field to see any tourists home game

$25 at outback. tax tip beer not included.

the contest and the coupon book were done by tim at muse graphics, and to him nachodoggy say 'gracias amigo!'

doggy bunk bed

2011-07-14T12:39:00.002-05:00

native area

2011-07-14T12:01:00.015-05:00

some parts of the grove park inn golf course are marked with this sign: native area.

as opposed to what?

settler's area?

are they talking about going native like my brother and i did at lion country safari in 1984?

lazy logos

2011-07-11T11:41:00.003-05:00

the washington nationals logo looks too much like the walgreens logo.

the amtrak logo looks too much like the bank of america logo.

if you ask me.

july

2011-07-11T06:59:00.038-05:00

probably time to switch the calendar from june now that this month is already 1/3 over. yowzas.

i filled this weekend with stuff that white people like.

garage saling, i found 2 70's shirts and a stretch belt that says 'jeans jeans jeans jeans' all over it.

farmers marketing, i got the honey walnut goat cheese and the olive tapenade and the trout jerky.

hiking, i walked with dogs in woods.

eating, i had seared duck breast in blackberry sauce from a strip mall italian restaurant.

drinking, i had white wine out of a box (not bad, tastes like peaches) and tons of peppermint sun tea.

exploring, i drove through an orphanage that has a golf course.

stretching, i did some yoga videos. 'yoga for athletes.' having done no yoga in 10 years, it's coming back slooooowly but feels great. i can totally see how it's addictive, what a rush.

dog-parenting, i yelled at some pups who ruined a salsa celebration by counter-surfing the bag of blue corn chips off the counter.

all in all, solid A.

the four dogmen of the furpocalypse

2011-07-07T06:33:00.003-05:00

one is a dogwoman. (maizey the fluffy golden retriever on the left.)

the more retrivers the merrier!

bus stop removal notice

2011-07-05T10:07:00.002-05:00

as if a bus stop removal notice weren't ghetto enough, it is affixed with duct tape. way to go asheville transit.

squirrel tidbits

2011-07-01T12:43:00.006-05:00

highlights of this week included:

finding this nut-eating golf-playing squirrel fake-collared sweatshirt at goodwill. he has a rhinestone eye.

going to see a week-old baby. he was probably smaller than this squirrel. the whole time i was there he was sleeping, healthy, and pink.

watching kevin compose an ode to holden on a terrible dented manual typewriter - "The Bowels of Heaven"

ALSO one of the people in the following photo will be doing 5 minutes of stand-up comedy next tuesday july 5 at the magnetic field in asheville's river arts district. (event link here.)

i consider stand up comic to be the scariest job in existence. i would rather change the light bulbs on top of bridges.

happy 4th of july! hope your bombs burst in air.

globular truth & wisdom

2011-06-27T14:49:00.013-05:00

"from time to time, the world does change."

i bought a sweet new globe and i love this insert that came with it - so true. and it's a great program replogle is running -- if, no WHEN, the world does change, i can get in touch with them and they will sell me a new globe for 50% off.

i have learned a lot already by studying the globe. i had no idea australia was so far from the UK. opposite side of the earth. must have been hell on those debtors.

also, the pacific ocean is not small.

do your part!

2011-06-23T07:16:00.001-05:00

this was on the ground next to an apartment complex dumpster.

i am the first to agree with "one man's trash is another man's treasure."

i respect the enthusiasm and the sentiment. it's fairly judgy/preachy and greener than thou, however, and i doubt anybody will take heed.

the 'habitat for humanities' bit makes me smile.

pomegranates

2011-06-22T10:21:00.002-05:00

it's 6500 miles from chile to asheville. how fresh can they be?

before - after

2011-06-22T10:03:00.005-05:00

pretty effective way to advertise, here. never saw anything like this before.

solstice

2011-06-21T13:27:00.016-05:00

here it is. the longest day of the year. i am trying my best not to be sad about it (they're only getting darker) and instead to live in the moment and appreciate the fact that it's still light at 9pm, and will be for a couple more weeks.

i am typing amidst a summer squall, it's pouring rain, i hear thunder, and i also see the sun over the valley less than a mile away. dynamic.

baby bonanza

2011-06-17T05:58:00.000-05:00

it really seems like every one of my best friends and family has a baby under the age of 3 right now. it's wild how they all have such different personalities and styles, in line with their parents' personalities of course. though they are spread out across the country, i would love to get them all together. especially in like 13 years.

two more tots joined the party this week, and if you ask me they look like tough little cookielets. and perfect prom dates in 2027!

introducing...finley!

and...lucas!

muchos adorables, no?

ethical half fry

2011-06-15T06:13:00.013-05:00

imagine yourself at a baseball game.

you are sharing a basket of fries with someone you love.

it comes down to the last fry.

it's a big fry.

cliff hanger

2011-06-13T08:11:00.026-05:00

hiking with nacho yesterday, the river was raging and full. it's hard to keep him out of the water. i tried to get him positioned in front of the rapids for a picture and said "Sit" and he sat and fell in a hole.

he was cool with it.

i wish i were more like nacho. i would have freaked out, fallen backwards and cracked my skull and spine and died. which seems like an okay way to go sometimes. better than stomach cancer.

he also saw a cairn. and became mildly over excited.

My Potato Project; The Importance of "Organic"

2011-06-10T12:13:00.001-05:00

which potato would you rather eat?