light at the beginning

today isn't the end. it's friday. tomorrow isn't the beginning. it's saturday.

but in the spirit of new years, i will say i had a busy 2010.

i moved from charlotte back to asheville with my love.

holden killed himself. i didn't kill myself. it wasn't as hard as i anticipated. it never is.

my business was dissolved, and i started a new one.

i went to new york a couple times, and to florida a couple times, and to charleston, and to colorado. i hiked a lot. i swam in a mountain waterfall.

i became an aunt. to the cutest happiest little monkey in the world.

i didn't see as much live music as i would like, though i did see neil young and bob dylan and that might be enough right there.

i made my goal and posted more times here than i did in 2009.

i watched a lot of dog whisperer. keep moving forward is the secret. be calm and assertive. and move forward.

whatever you are doing tonight and tomorrow and the rest of your life, i hope you find peace and warmth and good people to share your time with. here's to positive momentum - cheers!

dirty dripping roofcicle

i know it looks like a chamber pot chair. (which my MOM used to have in our family room as a planter. antique one. probably still has it in the house but i can't picture where.)

316 crestwood road in the snow

got a foot of snow in asheville starting on christmas day. it turned into a blizzard and headed northeast. i hope everybody is safe and warm and has power, heat, and water. 

here's where i lived 30 years ago when it was covered in snow. santa used to go there. there was a bunch of kids my age in the neighborhood. it was sweet. good old warwick rhode island.

eli as he was in the cell in his mother's womb

i believe this to be true.

christmas squirrel marshmallow world

murray christmas

i think the cleveland show is pretty damn funny. rollo reminds me of holden (RIP). i love how cleveland pronounces merry and marry like "murray."
i can't stop saying it that way.

MURRAY CHRISTMAS!

when parents text

this is the funniest site i have seen in years.

http://whenparentstext.com/

parents texting with their children.

por ejemplos:

FLASH

Dad: ill send you a FLASH tomorrow

Me: What’s a flash?

Dad: this thing that goes FLASH on the phone

Me: It’s a text, thanks.

*****

PROFILE PIC

Mom: Proud day for you! I changed my facebook picture

Me: to what?

Mom: Gummy bears. LOL!

holiday advice from charles-pierre baudelaire

Always be drunk.
That's it!
The great imperative!
In order not to feel
Time's horrid fardel
bruise your shoulders,
grinding you into the earth,
Get drunk and stay that way.
On what?
On wine, poetry, virtue, whatever.
But get drunk.
And if you sometimes happen to wake up
on the porches of a palace,
in the green grass of a ditch,
in the dismal loneliness of your own room,
your drunkenness gone or disappearing,
ask the wind,
the wave,
the star,
the bird,
the clock,
ask everything that flees,
everything that groans
or rolls
or sings,
everything that speaks,
ask what time it is;
and the wind,
the wave,
the star,
the bird,
the clock
will answer you:
"Time to get drunk!
Don't be martyred slaves of Time,
Get drunk!
Stay drunk!
On wine, virtue, poetry, whatever!"

-Charles-Pierre Baudelaire

wine country

it's noon on a saturday.

you're in an SUV limo with 15 people you just met, going from winery to winery in temecula, california.

you start making out with one of the people in the back seat.

this is the reaction.

my dream

when i think of the most perfect moment i could ever live through, this is it.

shine on

no more tiles in the bag, and this is the message the scrabble gods sent me last night.

here's a video of john cruz singing his song of the same name.

The morning sun comes through the window on your hair
I find your love & spirit everywhere
I may not have that much to give in material things
But what i have is this song & to you i sing

Shine on, shine on let your light fill up this world til' dawn
Shine on, shine on let your light fill up this world til' dawn

All night long i wait for you and you're finally there
I'm amazed at the loving that we both have shared
I may not have that much to give in material things
But what i have i give to you so freely

Shine on, shine on let your light fill up this world til' dawn
Shine on, shine on let your light fill up this world til' dawn.

All night long, i will wait for your fire
All night long, i will wait for your fire
All night long, i will wait for your fire
All night long, i will wait for your fire

Well, the morning sun comes through the window on your hair
I awake to find your spirit everywhere
I know i may not have that much to give in material things
But what i have i give to you so freely

So, shine on, shine on let your light fill up this world til' dawn
Shine on, shine on just let your light fill up this world til' dawn

All night long, i will wait for your fire
All night long, i will wait for your fire
All night long, i will wait for your fire
All night long, i will wait for your fire

nachodoggy

i decided i was being mean to people i don't know on here today, and deleted the posts about zuckerman's hands and donald trump television and here is a picture of nacho's gullet.

television

oh to be like nacho and have a brain the size of a walnut, fresh snuggies to drool on, and an everwagging tail...

i spent the majority of my adult life without a tv. which meant that i spent a lot of time online. i missed having a tv during college basketball season and that's it.

in the past couple years, the situation has changed, definitely for the better, and now there is a big screen tv in the family room and i spend a couple hours every night in front of it.

i thought it was supposed to be relaxing and turn people into unthinking zoned-out zombies. instead i often find myself anxious and yelling at the screen and hating humanity.

i love the show pawn stars. i love the real emotion and hope and validation non-actors get in selling their treasures.

i love watching sports on tv. i hate the announcers. we turn on woody durham on the radio and sync it to the tv during carolina basketball. i learn so much more about the teams that way - radio announcers kick ass. tv announcers blow hard.

last night for example the following shows stressed me out:

cash cab - while i love the true emotion of non-actors (again) i am anxious while watching it imagining if i'd been in the cab and didn't know the answers

millionaire matchmaker - the plastic surgery and shallowness was overwhelming. completely. and the loneliness. egos. delusions. uggghhh.

even the golf channel, which you would think would lull a person to peaceful rest, had a show about how donald trump strong-armed his way into polluting the northeast coast of scotland with his 'biggest' and 'best' and 'most lavish' golf course that he's building in the dunes there. he is an ass. if he wanted to appreciate the dunes and let people enjoy walking through them, he could've created a park instead of a multi-million dollar exclusive golf course in the beautiful fragile ecosystem. now if you want to walk in those dunes you'll have to pay exorbitant greens fees. and half your month's salary to stay at the fake garish castle he's renovating. america, fuck yeah!

so i guess i should just stick with pawn stars, house hunters, and unc basketball with the volume off.

skedaddling

highlights of the past week include:

- tea and crumpets (okay coffee and chocolate) with friends and their chubby babies

- a chubby 1 year old who slaps his legs instead of clapping

- a chubby 1 year old who tumbled gracefully head first into a diaper pail and didn't even cry

- corn pudding and collared greens from 12 bones

- for 4 meals in a row

- behind the scenes after hours tour of a fantastic brewery in the woods with fun friends old and new

- lap sitting in the back of a cab down the interstate

- finding a stray lace thong at our house after a party, for the second party in a row

- finger painting a mannequin flesh color

- sub-zero wind chills forcing me to stay inside

- for 4 days in a row

million dollar soup bowl idea

i would love to have soup bowls with spouts. then i could drink the soup dregs straight out of the bowl without spilling on myself or needing a bib.

you are free to take this idea and run, just please send me one.

dusting porch

welp it's snowing in asheville. it hasn't stopped snowing in asheville since last friday. no real accumulation over an inch, just icy super windy winter shit. it's so cold in the basement the olive oil froze. i put olive oil on the dogs' food as gravy and it was caked frozen onto the sides this morning. i'm so ready for april.

selling vintage clothes

i am so excited to be selling vintage clothes online again.

i love everything about this job.

i love finding the clothes at goodwill. i think of it as treasure hunting and 'saving' them.

i love taking pictures of the clothes.

i love photoshopping people's heads on the mannequin.

i love getting them to people who will love to wear them. it feels good to wear your favorite clothes!

i started a store on etsy, as opposed to ebay or starting a site of my own. the fees are reasonable, i like how it looks, it's simple to add new shirts, they allow buyers to pay with checks, money orders, and cash, not just paypal, and they have a 'vacation mode' where i can close the shop for any amount of time and go away.

the top shelf from vintage vantage will eventually be listed in the etsy shop. as soon as the boxes arrive and i can list them.

i love working!

here's a link to the shop - skippy haha vintage on etsy

eating while driving

Faster Food, originally uploaded by FaceMePLS.

i started a group on flickr called "Eating while Driving" and there are 25 pictures added already from people all over the globe.

click to see: Eating while Driving

apple cider vinegar

i think apple cider vinegar is a miracle elixir.

i had a sore throat swollen gland the size of a golf ball and achy feeling starting wednesday night. i drank apple cider vinegar yesterday and today my throat is 95% perfect.

1-2 Tablespoons raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar
squeeze of honey
cup of hot water
mix and drink 2-4 times a day

as soon as i start to feel even the slightest twinge of getting sick i do this.

eat as much garlic (raw) as i can, along with local raw honey, ginger, and lemons. all day long i drink combinations of these 4 things mixed with hot water.

yesterday i got chicken noodle soup and added a few cloves of chopped raw garlic.

i squeeze lemon on everything.

i dip a q-tip in rubbing alcohol and clean my ears.

i haven't had a full blown cold or flu in 3 years. knock on wood. i get the swollen glands and kill the bugs with apple cider vinegar, and feel better in a day.

acv will also remove a wart. dip a q-tip in acv, cut off the end of the qtip and put it on the wart and cover it with a bandaid. air it out when you sleep, replace with a new acv qtip tip in the morning. within 3 days the wart will turn black. within a week it will fall off like a scab. poof! gone!

asheville beat tape vol. 1 from skew records

press release from skew records:

In a clearing surrounded by mountains a distinctive sound rings out. This sound is the imaginative echo of the Asheville electronic music scene. It's a sound that has been growing rapidly within this mountain community, where an ever-growing artist population constantly pushes the variety of musical production through the envelope.

The idea for an Asheville Beat Tape came from Nigel One, a long-time DJ and producer who has been involved in Asheville's electronic music scene since the early 2000's. Soon after joining forces with Skew Records, Nigel decided to spearhead the idea of bringing some of the surrounding talent together to form an Asheville Beat Tape. After a month's time, Nigel had collected a multitude of tracks from area producers, and brought on Skew producers Peripheral and DM Stair to help artfully and seamlessly arrange the tracks into order. The result is a 45-minute mix of inspiring production and composition styles.

The Beat Tape consists of a variety of artists such as Two Fresh, Moving Temple, Mother Hood of RBTS WIN, Peripheral, DJ Bowie, DM Stair, and Mingle of Paper Tiger, all performers at Moogfest this past Halloween weekend. Other producers include Nigel One, Marley Carroll of Melanaster Records, Bookworm and Jables from Labcoat, SYS-HEX, d:Raf, KimathiM, Wuchinow, and ProFlogik of Skew Records.

Nigel One and the collective of area producers have started accepting entries for Volume 2, which will include other artists that did not appear on Volume 1. Stay tuned this winter for more information on mix tape and individual artist releases from Skew Records.

 

Asheville Beat Tape Vol. 1 by Skew Records

download or stream and pretty soon you will be dancing like this -

nacho's first day - july 2003

how did i not eat him?

political confusion

are they right wing or left wing? all i can tell is they are wing nuts of some kind.

OBAMA

These United State of America

Judeo -Christian

We allow Heathens to Worship in Peace

In God we Trust

AGITATING

COMMUNIST

OBAMAS
RADICAL

NUTS

Oath Keepers

Let Georgia Vote

Hunter Safety System

Sheer Panic

here comes nacho cottontail

went down to tallahassee florida for a wonderful thanksgiving this weekend. it was 60-80 degrees and sunny 90% of the time. glorious!

we went to the florida-florida state football game saturday afternoon. we bought tickets outside from a referee (he was in his uniform) who said they were on the 50 yard line, but they were really on the goal line. the pregame was amazing. pomp and pageantry. chief osceola- a fake seminole on a palomino with a flaming spear.

people were serious about the tailgating. the only jacket i had with me happened to be gator blue and i got some unwanted attention from that. friendly drunken gator fans tried to get me to cheer with them but i didn't know the words. but now i do.

IT'S GREAT

TO BE

A FLORIDA GATOR!

it was cold in the shade and we left during the first quarter.

we ate at shell oyster bar downtown tallahassee.

best raw oysters i've had maybe ever. they were so cold and salty and fresh. there are no windows in the restaurant but it's AWESOME. my dad would love it.

nacho and eli were pretty good. nacho was scared of the two year old. she is very sweet and did nothing to antagonize him - he's never been around toddlers and didn't know what to do. so he jumped in place and barked. bad dog. eli pushed himself too hard chasing tennis balls and hurt his leg which had him hobbling badly one night, but it miraculously healed by the next morning. he's taking it easy.  they spent time with rosie, the black lab who would have been a great bitch for holden. this picture captures their personalities pretty well.

good times!

i hope everybody had warm safe bountiful weekends.

this how Nacho Doggy get his name!

happy thanksgiving you all!

it's bound to take your life

god wake and baked and exhaled over the asheville valley, combined with a sunrise and a moonrise.

Brett Dennen - The Holidays Are Here & We're Still At War

i've posted this before in 2008, but as you may know, the holidays are back again and we're still at war.

Pilgrims in the parking lot

Arteries clogged with blood clots

Pushing through the aisles of department stores

Neon crosses and Christmas lights

Credit card debts and brand new bikes

The holidays are here and we're still at war

The rabbi reads from the testament

The banker gazes at the year's investments

Salvation santa's solicit for the poor

Deception of democracy

The philanderings of faux foreign policy

The holidays are here and we're still at war

Smoggy skies and fixed elections

Injustice strikes from all directions

People with their backs against the floor

Looking for someone to set us free

A king with fists like Mohammad Ali

The holidays are here and we're still at war

A mother knows what is best for you

Even though it's hard to listen

Your father knows he can count on you

Though you couldn't count on him

Christopher Columbus knew

Vasco De Gama and Magellan too

The profits of oppression grow like never before

All hail to the captalist thief

And mourn your lost ones and covet our grief

The holidays are here and we're still at war

Hurricane waters ravage southern towns

And black and brown people are left to drown

While the White House and the emergency management agency ignores

Victims seek shelter in the Astrodome

And the National Guard says 'Don't go home'

The holidays are here and we're still at war

Police officers hassle the homeless

Domestic disputes, alcohol and violence

The jailhouse opens wide its door

A corporation cuts a million employees

And the factory is moving overseas

The holidays are here and we're still at war

A mother knows what is best for you

Even though it's hard to listen

Your father knows he can count on you

Though you couldn't count on him

Jesus sheds another tear

Into a sea of two thousand years

Into the eve of a new year once more

Tears of joy, resolutions of sorrow

Toast to health and wealth tomorrow

The holidays are here and we're still at war

Religious wars and domination

World trade and globalization

The prices of petroleum soar

Lonesome churches are packed with sinners

Non-believers and new beginners

The holidays are here and we're still at war

Say a prayer for the less fortunate

Prisoners and soldiers you never have met

Understand what it is they're fighting for

Say a prayer for your enemies

Say a prayer for the victims and their families

The holidays are here and we're still at war

Yes, the holidays are here and we're still at war

Sesame Street: Paul Simon Sings Me & Julio

you can dance dance!

this little girl is too cute.

the long and winding road

that leads to your door
will never disappear

alive alert awake enthusiastic

alive alert awake

awake alert alive

alive alert awake enthusiastic

(CLAP CLAP!)

5 Nut peanut! 5 Nut peanut!

in the world of roasted peanuts, there are many 2 and 3 nut peanuts. the vast majority have 2 or 3 nuts inside.

then there are way too many 1 nut peanuts. so much work for so little reward.

very rarely will i find a good 4 nut peanut. i am always grateful when i do.

i have heard of the mystical 5 nut peanut, but until last night never really believed they existed. kevin swore he had one a couple months ago, but then squirrelled the nuts into his mouth too fast before i could do a proper accounting.

but last night it all came together and i reached in the bowl and pulled out a real live 5 NUT PEANUT!

5 NUT PEANUT! 5 NUT PEANUT!

i feel like meryl streep in adaptation hunting the white ghost orchid. or ahab in moby dick hunting humps like snowhills.

it's a great feeling!


*****


EDIT: just checked wikipedia ("peanut") and now i believe this peanut really was a wonder of nature! they don't even acknowledge the fact that 5 seed pods EXIST!

The fruits have wrinkled shells that are constricted between pairs of the one to four (usually two) seeds per pod.

noble deeds perform

“Nor grain, nor wealth, nor store of gold and silver,
Not one amongst his women-folk and children,
Nor slave, domestic, hired man,
Nor any one that eats his bread,
Can follow him who leaves this life,
But all things must be left behind.

“But every deed a man performs,
With body, or with voice, or mind,
’Tis this that he can call his own,
This with him take as he goes hence.
This is what follows after him,
And like a shadow ne’er departs.

“Let all, then, noble deeds perform,
A treasure-store for future weal;
For merit gained this life within,
Will yield a blessing in the next.”

- Good and Bad Karma, II. The Doctrine, Translated from the Samyutta-Nikya, Buddhist Writings.
The Harvard Classics. 1909–14.

kelsey in a chair

it is with sad fingers i report last week's passing of mappycamper's sweet, smart, calm, submissive, beautiful, faithful companion kelsey dog of goleta.

she lived a FULL 15.5 years and gave much joy and peace to all those who met her. she was a princess but not fussy. she sat in chairs and observed while the riff raff sniffed butts.

2010 was a tough year for furry friends. i believe kelsey is now running through a heavenly field with holden and yoshi. according to the very wise trevor garrod of tea leaf green, if that's what makes you happy, it doesn't matter if it's true.

at the same time, i have to welcome to the world SO MANY new babies! there have been 6 new arrivals in the past 2 months, and all the babies are healthy and thriving and adorable. and all the moms are healthy and thriving and adorable too.

i love the sweet unusual girls' names my friends have used - there's twins keira and marla leen, leila sacks, and selah raleigh. aren't they just lyrical wonders?

then there's the boys - emmitt glidewell and yesterday's addition jack radey. maybe not as lyrical, but definitely catchy. and catchy names correspond to success in life.

cocoa dregs

coffee + cocoa powder + honey = something almost worth getting out of bed for

i need a lot sleep. at least 9 hours. NEED it. always have. i could sleep 12 hours a night no problem.

i am at my meanest and nastiest if i feel like i am being woken up too early for no good reason. i was always the last one to get up at slumber parties. kids would be running around at sunrise and i'd put my pillow over my head and silently curse them all. luckily i am a very heavy sleeper.

i am not hungry in the morning and don't care about missing breakfast.

now that it's dark so early, i feel like going to bed at 7PM, and i am so grateful that i can do that sometimes.

maybe i'm just a chronically depressed brat, but really i feel a million times better when i've slept half the day.

happy national peanut butter month!

gonna have to face it - you're addicted to peanut butter

the forest glen inn

the forest glen inn was my house.

i was 9 years old and had been living in new york - huntington, long island, for about 2 years and we had many many visitors friends and family from rhode island stay in the guest room during that time.

it was mainly my grandparents - flops & drez - and the revens. 

i painted a wooden sign and put it in the driveway when guests were coming. i made that flyer on print shop and colored it in. i made comment sheets and did turndown service. this was the first comment sheet that i typed on my dad's old real typewriter.

drezza easter weekend 1986:

after this, i typed one and my dad brought it to work and made copies for me.

revens 1987:

at this point i seem to have charged my grandma for some lavender crap someone gave me: 

i never worked in a real hotel

nun on a giant bike

i took the lazoom purple bus tour of asheville for the third time this weekend and it's always a great time.

you learn a lot of asheville trivia, this time they gave out prizes for people who could answer questions.

i answered this one:

asheville has more art deco buildings downtown than any US city other than ____.

(miami)

i won a can of powdered mountain gorilla for answering this correctly. i haven't opened the can but it sounds like soup.

the most enjoyable part for me is probably waving to strangers on the street and seeing them wave back. it was a gorgeous afternoon and everybody on the street (and on the bus) was smiling.

we also saw a guy get hit by a frisbee in montford.

the tour starts in front of the french broad food co-op, and you are allowed to bring drinks on the bus. the FBFC sells serving-size bottles of screw-top prosecco (italian champagne) for $2, and i thought it was a great combination.

what would cause your carpal tunnel?

i do not have carpal tunnel. and for that i am grateful. my MOM had tendinitis in her thumbs that required surgery from playing so much bridge and shuffling cards. if i did develop carpal tunnel, it would most likely come from opening roasted peanuts. i can't get enough of these things- it must be part of my squirrel heritage.

another possible cause of my nonexistent carpal tunnel would be the game minesweeper. i have gone through phases where i played that game 8 hours a day. usually while procrastinating from studying. 

air kicks

kick the crap out of your day!

heee ya!

nothing's ever gonna stand in my way again!

purple mountains majesty

sunrise this morning. daylight spendings.

dishpan boobs

don't call what you're wearin an outfit

in honor of "day in the life of one girl" and all her cute, creative outfits - here is what i wear on a daily basis during the winter. 30 year old hoodies, 10 year old sweatpants. usually for 2 days at a time. and usually matching the banner of this website.

i feel clammed up about things to post here lately, so instead i'll direct your attention to other sites i find fun to visit.

betsylife has good recipes and upbeat musings from sun diego. also cute dogs.

the bugg blog has dramatic heartfelt posts about local asheville bloggers and politicos. also cute dogs.

the blue blog has descriptive and insightful posts about friends on a journey adventure from santa barbara to find their place in the pacific northwest. i am living vicariously through tyler's words as i also entertain the notion of moving to portland, seattle, and bellingham during some future era of my life. 

hyperbole and a half is completely freakin hilarious. that's not hyperbolic. 

here's a link to the drive-by truckers song "outfit" - link

You want to grow up to paint houses like me, a trailer in my yard till you're 23
You want to be old after 42 years, keep dropping the hammer and grinding the gears


Well, I used to go out in a Mustang, a 302 Mach One in green.
Me and your Mama made you in the back and I sold it to buy her a ring.
And I learned not to say much of nothing and I figured you already know
but in case you don’t or maybe forgot, I’ll lay it out real nice and slow


Don’t call what your wearing an outfit. Don’t ever say your car is broke.
Don’t worry about losing your accent, a Southern Man tells better jokes.
Have fun but stay clear of the needle. Call home on your sister’s birthday.
Don’t tell them you’re bigger than Jesus, don’t give it away.


Six months in a St. Florian foundry, they call it Industrial Park.
Then hospital maintenance and Tech School just to memorize Frigidaire parts.
But I got to missing your Mama and I got to missing you too.
So I went back to painting for my old man and I guess that’s what I’ll always do


So don’t try to change who you are boy, and don’t try to be who you ain’t.
And don’t let me catch you in Kendale with a bucket of wealthy-man’s paint.


Don’t call what your wearing an outfit. Don’t ever say your car is broke.
Don’t sing with a fake British accent. Don’t act like your family’s a joke.
Have fun, but stay clear of the needle, call home on your sister’s birthday.
Don’t tell them you’re bigger than Jesus, Don’t give it away.


Don’t give it away

chub rolls

miracle cure for all that ails you.

ooey gooey roots of jealousy

i want you to love
me and only me
forever and today
and forever
only me

humping for joy

eyebrow whiskers

all natural, no mascara.

for that baby seal effect.