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.

honor system

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!

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

just barely 

stool samples on ice

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!

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

 

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?

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

happy 90th birthday grandpa wallace

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

i'd climb a tree for a date with you

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

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

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

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

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!

cock clock

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

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

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

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

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

reminds me of pacific northwest native indian art.

willie!

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

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

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