february in chapel hill

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

whitney houston

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

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.

carolina vs. nc state: starting 5: smile ratio

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

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

hunger and whistling

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

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?

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

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

retriever reunion

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

luella's bbq

vet expansion

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

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

new print available - napa valley

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

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

happiest new year to all! 

catch ya in 2012!

biscuits

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!

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)

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

primary

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

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

aim for the moon

you'll run out of fuel 

(or land in the stars)

conversations with sugar

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

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

white squirrel!

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

judge a moth

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

exhausted by sandwiches

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

skiphappy?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(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

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.