steel mill, scotdale

rocky
- likes to play darts
- owns at least four hats
- claims not to have a couch
- claims to keep a refrigerator in the back of his van
- which is why he can't pick up a couch
star bar, atlanta

the sound system at standard feed & seed, atlanta

fire, fire practice!
















backstory: for awhile now i've had a hope - for the chance to shoot fire practice. fire practice = the fire department sets a thing on fire to learn how to put out said fire, quickly, efficiently, and safely.
on this day, i witnessed fire practice for the second time in all my years. the first time had been from a distance, at night, back in my hometown. the event now shown above was located a few hundred yards from the backside of the lakewood amphitheater at an atlanta fleet services center.
i scout/sleuth/wait for these things. so, when i drove by and saw the smoke, i figured the worst they could say is no, but i've heard that word before. so, i bounced up, smiled, asked politely and they began explaining what they were learning that day. it was a lesson on smoke reading. billowing black smoke indicates the location of the fire. brown smoke means wood is burning, probably structural. steamy smoke means water has been put on the fire. this was new information to me. the captain says to me, "we don't just run into places without an idea of what's happening inside." i couldn't help but smile. "well, i'd hoped not. good to know." was my reply.

a diner at the corner of sam's st. and e. college.

a portrait history of the gilmer county tax commissionership.

the back porch of peeples funeral home, chatsworth

plastic deer, chatsworth

sunset, dalton 02-15-11.
kevin shouting, "LOOK AT THE SUNSET!"

fleet services around lakewood

new hope rd, chatsworth

Mortimer St., Atlanta

Big V, 716 North 3rd Avenue
Milkshakes and sloppy joes.

catlanta makes me smile. a little in spite of myself.

on the subject of graffiti that amuses. someone did this on dekalb ave last summer. click image to view larger. he looks less than satisfied. he's thinking he could have made the fire bigger. i understand the urge to wanna burn a thing to the ground. not aa a practice, but i get it.
catlanta photo credit
burn baby burn photo credit

aquarium drunkard

wagon train, july 2008

my cousins.
Tennis - Pigeon

La Sera - Devil's Heart Grows Cold

The Sonics - Shot Down

mp3s via pretty goes with pretty and Hardly Art.

eddie aikau
fingers crossed there's an eddie aikau memorial surf competition. it's a rare competition. never scheduled, it only takes place when the waves reach a certain height in the winter. hoping for caroline who woke up at 4:00 this morning and her roommate who, perhaps over zealously, woke up at 2:30a to wait at the North Shore beaches.

The Drums - Let's Go Surfing

my mom taught me the phrase "rearranging deck chairs on the titanic" meaning to do something that will end up being for naught. i like that one. the other day, used the phrase "make hay while the sun shines" in a conversation with a friend. i was so surprised when she said she'd never heard it before, but i hear new ones plenty often too. even subscribe to "phrase of the week." some of my favorites to use include: "feast and famine," meaning too much and too little, lacking balance. "can't see the forest for the trees," meaning to be so entrenched in details you're unaware of the scope, or even the obvious. and "doesn't know [blank] from adam's house cat," means to not know someone to such at all, or to such a degree they may as well be someone else.

went to a great show: sovus radio, all the saints, n.e.c.. one of the best all around shows i've seen. everyone rocked socks.
i was standing by the bar when the first band (the n.e.c.) begins their set and this guy sitting next to me, with a girl who looked like his daughter, asks me whether i know the area well. i say i know it okay and ask what he's looking for. live music. i pointed to the wall behind him, "there's a show just through that door." he starts laughing at himself. "oh, that's what i was hearing." tickled me.

snow stacked (stacked bodies)
had dinner the other night with someone who works at a funeral home. i don't think i know anyone else who does that. so, it's a fascination/novelty. but he brought up something that, even in the feverish midst of snowpacolypse, hadn't occurred to me. with the snow slowing things down across the south, folks still die at pretty normal rates. and there ain't no southern funeral home prepared to bury folks in the snow. so, needless to say, things got a little backed up. after the coolers filled up, they resorted to putting a body on any available table surface. sheeted bodies lining the halls on folding tables.

poptartsworld.com
a friend told me her dad once ordered dozens of boxes of poptarts because he wanted to try all the flavors. you can get most current flavors of poptarts online at amazon, but for limited edition flavors, like pumpkin pie, you'll have to visit poptartsworld.com. the poptarts.com has created recipes that use poptarts. i actually read through them in case there was something awesome, but there wasn't.

how to raise a baby preying mantis (how-to)
a few weeks ago, i went to a birthday and observed someone feeding 180 baby preying mantises one by one with cat food on the tip of a needle. it was a person's birthday being celebrated and not the collective of baby mantises, by the way. there were stacks of jars and gladware around the living room, each containing 7 or 8 little guys. working from jar to jar, their caretaker would pull out a little green speck on her finger tip then meet that with a a half speck of cat food. she'd wait until their praying hands had nabbed the food a few times, then place him/her down in a newly spritzed container where they'd await the arrival of the others. i was offered one to take home for my very own. i declined.

that's not what the recipe says (food blog)
by and by, learned that eggs poached in tomato sauce is called Uova al Purgatorio, Eggs in Purgatory. or Eggs in Hell (which I'm not sure how to say in italian.) An egg in purgatory makes some sense, but the idea of an egg in hell seems inconsistent. i reckon that the difference in whether your eggs are in hell or purgatory relies on how fiery they are.
- - -
circa 16 years ago, i played a computer game called taskmaster which was set in the middle ages. as you may know from history, in the middle ages absolutely everyone went to hell after dying. so, in the game, of course, i found myself in a maze of fire forced to fight the devil with nothing more than a butter knife. good news though: hell had an exit sign. escape from perpetual fire was technically possible, but it's really difficult to beat the devil with a butter knife. basically impossible.

I change the ink cartridges at work. Not because no one else knows how. I do enjoy tugging that little plastic loop that draws out the tape because it creates a little cloud of color. The other day a colleague let me know a cartridge was dry. I insisted that he not be giving me directions, rather just turned and said, "Don't tell me what to do!" He advised I change my tone, then change the toner. Snap! I laughed.

But anyway, now I'm gonna share my Thanksgiving break. It's one of the better holidays, certainly. Up there with the 4th of July. But this holiday brings about inner conflict for me. Decended from both pilgrims and indians, I never know where to sit. Should I bring maize or the plague? I don't know. I know there are other Americans who share this struggle. One day it'll be talked about, there will be support groups, and my children won't have to go through the shame and confusion that I have.

Thursday

At the grocery store, I ran into some folks I'd met a few weeks ago around a bonfire. Mmmm bonfires are the best and so were these guys. We'd chatted about raves and colorgaurd for a while. Which I guess made us pals because they were all hugs and Thanksgiving dinner invitations, but, I had plans (and too bad as they were making scotch eggs. mmm.) Turns out we're neighbors so maybe we'll see each other soon.

Later, Christopher came over for brunch. We had poached eggs in a spicy tomato sauce with pita bread.

He told me about his school projects/Yokohoma Chickens. And we for a while talked about Keirsey because we both test as INFPs. See below: Chris' chickens...on boats?

Inspired by all things hot and awesome, I made a chocolate cake with cinnamon, coffee, and cayenne pepper and a little ginger in the glaze. I secretly called it yokohoma chocolate cake, but just didn't want to explain that when I took it to dinner with my Atlanta cousins. We had all the typical Thanksgiving fare and my cousin John, made the most delicious mushroom and brussel sprout casserole. Then we watched the Saints kick ass. Everyone else in the room was rooting for the Cowboys, though I can't figure why. That's a lie. It was some foolishness about how that affects the Falsons. pff. So I just kept my thoughts to myself. March on Saints! And don't hesitate to pummel the Falcons.

Friday

On Friday I worked in the showroom. Of course, there were so many treats in the kitchen!

After work, traveled north to Ellijay for a late night breakfast with my mother, brother and my Annie (grandmother) which included a yummy raspberry strata.

After dinner, I prowled the attic in search of treasure.

Jackpot

A Journal!..about Horses!...that Annie made when she was a kid! So fun to find.

Absolutely golden...

AND! this book (lots and lots of semi-useful goodies in here).

Learned how to make a paper cup. Simple, but not that practical. I made one, then made a wax paper lining, and my drink leaked anyway.

Saturday

Annie's begun knitting. Mom and I went to the yarn shop in town to choose something for a cowl Annie'd offered as her new project. Lots of fun in there. We got her a set of circular needles for Christmas.

But there was a string attached - I asked for body size sweater for the cold city nights.

Kinda like this...only slightly less demented.

All afternoon we watched Emma and sipped homemade mochas.

Then after dark I traveled over the hills and through the woods to Chatsworth just in time to watch the next to last episode of the latest ANTM with Kelsey. That's America's Next Top Model, for anyone who's missed the last 17 seasons of street urchins Tyra attempts to turn into fierce high-fashion cover girls.

Sunday

In the morning, Kate sings her favorite Christmas tune.

Impossible not to giggle!

We traditionally celebrate Thanksgiving the Sunday after on account of deer season.

Get this. When I got to my grandma's, Tad says to me, "Why are you dressed like that?"

"How am I dressed?"

"Like an art teacher. You dress like that at home, but not in public."

"!?!"

You should have seen what he was wearing! This old purple and black sweater jacket that belonged to our dad, like in the 80s. I was wearing a beautiful plaid button up that belonged to Kate and Kels' grandfather, Harold---the moment I put it on Kelsey shouted from the other room "You can't have that!" : ) She thought I might accidentally take it home with me. Maybe she's heard my plaid is not a fad axiom.

Playing with Finley. As an out-of-towner, I've only met the newest Dotson a couple of times.

Before I headed back to Atl, Tad and I had some quality time listening to music and watching videos.

This is Diamond Rings.
Tad: "He sounds good. Kind of a spaz."

Me: "Yeah, watch his dance. Kinda reminds me of you. Sry."

Tad: "Eh. It's true."
It was true. That's how Tad dances.

So that was that. I reckon I'm blessed like I don't know. Hope your holiday was fine too.

Pasta Carbonara

Finally tried a recipe Pook sent me an eon ago. She knows that I enjoy both black pepper and the crap shoot of poaching an egg.
The meal was darn tasty. Definitely to become a regular. Thanks Pook!

Peppery Pasta Carbonara with Poached Egg
(serves 4-6) prep time: 25 min

8 bacon slices, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 lb. fettucini
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano plus additional for serving
4-6 tbsp chopped tarragon or parsley
4-6 large eggs
2 tsp. black pepper

-Cook bacon in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat until crisp. Transfer to paper towels to drain.
-Meanwhile, cook spaghetti in a 4-quart saucepan of salted boiling water until al dente. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then transfer spaghetti to a small bowl, shaking off excess water, and keep
pan of water simmering.

-Pour off all but 2 tsp bacon grease from skillet, then whisk butter into grease in skillet over medium heat.
Add spaghetti, reserved cooking water, cheese, and 2 tsp pepper (rounded) and cook, stirring, until
sauce is thickened and almost completely absorbed, 2 to 3 minutes. Add bacon and 4 tbsp tarragon/parsley and toss.

Season with salt and pepper.

-Break egg into a cup and gently slide into water. Poach at a bare simmer to desired doneness. For a firm
white and runny yolk, cook 2 to 3 minutes.

-Serve pasta topped with egg (transfer with slotted spoon). Sprinkle with remaining tarragon/parsely if that's what's up.

{parsley image}

wall art

specs for a wall i'd like to have built.
kinda banking on it.
c'mon big money.
(no whammies).

the jam

November 19

So, this is The Jam.

It goes like this...

To make jam:
1)Choose a main ingredient. (2 cups)
2)Select symbiotic ingredients. (roughly 1 cup)
3)Surprise me with spice, herb, flower, bacon fat, anything... (to taste)
4)Cut all ingredients down to size. Jam size.
5)Choose a sugar. It's light or dark. Pick a side. (1-1.5 cups)
6)Stir in 1 cup of sugar.
7)Bring to a boil in cast iron or Dutch oven.
8)Let it bubble for nearly an hour. When it looks like jam, you're done. 
9)Pass time stirring at 10ish minute intervals, mushing the hot fragrant fruit with the back of a wooden spoon, pastry blender, or whatever mashing tool works for you.
10)Simmer and cool. Jar. Store.

These are the flavors I made most recently.

Spiced Banana Pear
ingredients: pear, banana, passion fruit, sugar, cinnamon, lavender, and lemon.

Pumpkin Apple Butter
ingredients: apple, pumpkin, honey, sugar, ginger, all spice, and lemon.

Roseberry Mint
(alternatively: Cranberry Bogs Forever)
ingredients: cranberry, strawberry, sugar, mint, rosemary, and lime.

Curried Tomato Chutney
ingredients: tomato, brown sugar, onion, peppers, basil, garlic, lime, coriander, nutmeg, mustard seed, red pepper, fenugreek, and turmeric.

ain't nothin' like the real thing

do you ever find that you follow an href down like it's a rabbit hole, wikipedia'n shit then find yourself reading someone's post-graduate thesis...? yeah? no? it happens. here's an interesting article about the illusory discord between science and religion.

but if all that's not your bag...

here's a cat eating a banana while being dressed like a banana

ハロウィン

part spooky stories, part japanese culture that just seems weird to me.

the biblical space yurt

i like checking email first thing after waking up because it's the affectation of productivity without getting out from under the blankets.

caroline sent me to see this "nestrest". we can put this in the backyard and i'll live in it while the weather's nice.


but the best part by far were the cracks about this particular photo...




see: biblical space yurt


lol

aw here we go again

i'm moving.
mailing addresses, not urls. although i've considered the latter. but curio is properly three years old right about now which is too young to abandon and too old to abort. looking back, i see that going weeks without new posts is common practice. frankly, don't know why i bother with excuses since everyone must be accustomed by now.

so - here we have photos from the home currently being boxed. there's an endless supply of cardboard at the store. good fortune for not only my own apt packing, but my mom's as well. she's leaving her home of a decade in another week or so. and now all those things i've been dropping off in my old bedroom have to be sorted. for instance, the box of dozens of movie ticket stubs i saw with my highschool boyfriend. tossed. or the broken desk chair from my childhood. tossed.... my parent's creepy cool collection of bleached animal bones and feathers. kept!

c'est la vie, darlings. life is movement. still, i look forward to settling into a home for more than 12 months at a time. true i like it fresh, but the annual uprooting has its pitfalls.

i thought i'd be selling the sofa when i was contemplating a cross seas move.


been thinking about home home. the homelands. i won't have a house there anymore. which will be fine since i spend so much time there at other folks houses anyway. still pretty certain a few things won't change for a while.


that's kate on their back porch. i think of their house as my home as much or more than i ever did my own.


bug's eye view of a fig tree my dad mistakenly thinks is his. i remember the first time i ate a fig. i was bouncing on the trampoline when dad grabbed one off this tree. he said "fig," but i heard "pig." then he pulled it apart and the fruit's pink fleshy innards grossed me out cause i was seeing tiny pig guts.

w-w-w-why