Friday, December 4, 2009

The Blue Room





So we have this one room, it's supposedly a breakfast room but it's not really big enough for any dining table we have and we don't eat breakfast anyway and also it's one foot from the dining room so I can't figure out why we wouldn't just eat in there in the first place. But anyway. It's always been a tricky room, just sort of a wide place in the hall. But after ten years in this house, I think we finally got it the way we want it. It originally had linoleum stuck to the floors; we scraped all that up upon moving in and had the floor refinished; I then painted it icy blue. Then for some reason, about six months later, we painted it the color of a flower pot. And it stayed that way for nine years.

Until last week when I painted it back blue. I love the way it looks like a Scandanavian ice room or something. It's where this year's Chrismas tree lives and the difficult-to-work-in Louis Ghost chairs. I love it so much.

The pictures on the wall are my #1 prized possession: paintings on paper by Barbara Page, mother of my mother's childhood best friend. When we bought this house, Mom and Dad asked us what we'd like from theirs and without missing a beat, I said "the Barbara Page paintings." There are eight in all and I wish I could figure out how to reproduce and sell them. They're incredibly fragile, painted with tempera on like grocery store bags from the fifties. The frames were made by Mr. Click of Elkin, NC, who is a little vague to me other than he has a cartoon character name.





So there you have another thrilling entry. memorize it; there might be a test.

Monday, September 28, 2009

End of September

That means: toad lilies.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Friday, August 14, 2009

Guest Room

Okay, with the exception of painting the window and the doors, the guest room is done. We refurbished the crazy chandelier so now each guest can write or draw on a piece of paper and attach it. Beats a boring old guestbook! And Sister Meg's pocketbooks made the move downstairs. We also finished the crown moulding and freshened up some of the green wall paint. Our old dead cat Eleanor sneezed on the walls a lot.

Come visit! Call first.





Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Upstairs, Upstairs

Yesterday and today, Sister Meg and I moved the 2500 book library upstairs to the weird area at the top of the stairs where nothing ever worked. Here are some in-progress pics. FInished ones coming later.

Old library, partially destructed:



New library, partially, uh, structed.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Favorite Things #6



The Overlook Wodehouse series. I alphabetized them last night so I could more easily figure out what I was missing. I'm only missing nine - and four of those don't come out until later this year.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

The National Civil Rights Museum



I spent some time Friday at the National Civil Rights Museum (warning: uplifting music) in Memphis. It's an interesting place, but like a lot of history-type museums, it's a little bit problematic. It's seriously heavy on text panels and skimpy on artifacts (especially the first section, all the way up to the Civil War), which causes a lot of bottlenecking. But I really liked it on the whole. I was unnerved a little when I turned a corner and was literally standing looking from the insidethrough a glass wall at the actual room at the Lorraine Motel where MLK Jr stayed (the museum is built in and around the motel). You can look out the window and see the spot where he died one foot from your eyeballs. It's weird because you don't know it's coming - I mean, you know where you are in the Civil Rights timeline at all times in the museum but you don't really expect to get to stand in the room. They're nuts about you taking pictures (they say it's about various people owning trademarks blah blah blah but really I think it's about selling postcards in one of the two gift shops) so I don't have a photo of it, but I will say: it's something else. A very strange feeling.



Then - again without warning - you go to an annex where you're standing in the bathroom from where James Earl Ray aimed his rifle. The window is open just so, just enough to squeeze a rifle barrel through. It's positively freaky and I noticed a lot of people - really, a lot - skipped this altogether the minute they got a whiff of what it was. Then there's a whole other enormous room devoted to the manhunt for Ray and another for the Did Ray Act Alone? conspiracy theories. I thought this was a mistake - you get a whole room of this but Selma gets one wall in the other building? It seemed disproportionate and even though you get a little bit of hope after that - a room of recent Civil Rights achievements - you almost come away with a little sense of hopelessness because so much square footage is devoted to James Earl Ray.

But everyone should go - it doesn't feel like medicine. It's really interesting and that real Lorraine Motel room thing...well, I can't even explain it.

They did miss a big chance though - there should be a place to eat and it should be designed like a vintage lunch counter.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Sumpin' Ain't Right

It's July in Nashville! Which means, you know, quilts at night and hot chocolate.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Mr Burns, At Rest



The Burns died this morning. It had been a while since he ate and he could barely hold his head up so we took him to the vet and made the decision. We've been prepared for a while, but we were still surprisingly unprepared. Sister Meg and I stayed n the room with our hands on him while they put the needle in and his faint little heartbeat stopped.



We buried him with all of his winter sweaters. In the garden, near the fountain he fell in repeatedly.



He was one goddamned weird, difficult little dog but I'll miss him all the rest of the days of my life.



Friday, June 26, 2009

Camp Junebug

Back to Big South Fork, with Mom, Dad, Sister Meg and The Burns. Camped next to a raft-load of Jesusy teens, singing Jesusy type songs. Hymns, I guess you'd call them. They had no qualms about singing them at top volume waaaay past the Official Quiet Time hours, so they can all just fuck right off.

ANYWAY! The Burns settles in to his tent:





Dad and Mom and Junebug (one day Junebug will be MINE and she will be COVERED with STICKERS!):



Fancy dinner (NY Strip, sauteed sweet potatoes, spinach with lemon and garlic):



The Burns sleeps:



The Burs settles in for a hike with Sister Meg:



And then she threw the dog in the river:

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Honky-Tonkin'

A late night in Music City.



The legendary Robert's Western Wear



Face lifts for everybody!



Sister Meg and WC Fields, out on the town.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Something New

Here's an idea I've had for a while and now I'm doing it. I am obsessed with the many different permutations of hair salon names. I can't give any away in advance but gee whiz, there are a TON and they're all fabulous.

I can't promise it'll be every single day or every two days or whatever, especially since I want the photos to be pretty which means I have to go do them myself but:

The Curl Up and DIaries.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Favorite Thing #5

Needlepointed by my mother before I was born.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Shiver

Here's something you don't like to see in the woods.

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Random Literary Criticism


Found on the title page of a book I was reading. I agree wholeheartedly, by the way.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Topsy Turvy Update

You all laughed at me! I heard you. And yet....here is the Topsy Turvy, already with tomatoes on it. In May. Ha ha ha, eat it detractors. Five weeks from a two-inch tall seedling to this.



Tuesday, May 19, 2009

SRSLY, I Don't Mess Around

The camping pile...so far, and some of the associated lists. Big South Fork countdown: 8 days.



Rabbit-Proof



A rabbit has been eating my herbs. I'VE SEEN HIM. So I moved them all up onto this table. I've never seen a rabbit jump UP so we'll see if this works.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Old Man River

I went on a riverboat ride Friday night. It's like ten feet from my house and I'd never been on it.

There was a "show" and there was "dinner" but really the outside part was the only thing I was really interested in.




Saturday, May 16, 2009

Glamping

Here's this year's ridiculous camping trip menu. Admit it! You want to come too!

I don't mess around - I ain't eating no hot dog.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Mystery Flower

Can anyone ID this plant for me? It came from the woods in the mountains of NC - I've had it in the ground four years and this year it went crazy, spreading like mad. Long, bright green sword-like leaves, multiple medium purple blossoms on each stem.





Thanks in advance, plant nerds!

Saturday, April 25, 2009

More Spring evidence

Sorry I'm a crappy photographer. Here are some pictures of my hike yesterday at Beaman Park. 2.1 miles. Wildflowers like crazy.

Something yellow


A Shooting Star. These were everywhere.


Something red.


Woodland phlox. Lots of this too.


Moss sending up stems. I always like this.


Teeny woodland iris.


Wild azalea.