What Did That Pig Do To You?

(from August 31st)

it's how we celebrate

He Could Be Anywhere Now

So Rick was our guest for a few days this week. He was taking a day or so to decompress, but the woods were either that good or he has a fear of bears, because he's back out on the road again. He just can't wait to be on the road again.

Yuula put him right to work, as she's known to do

He wanted to see waterfalls, so I did the best I could

Yuula is always up for a nice hike in the woods...

As long as she's wearing the proper shoes

Torrie showed us a few more nature spots, til it opened up and rained on us

The the next morning at breakfast Rick and Yuula traded portraits of each other. I'm not sure whose is better.

Should see Rick in GA next week, if he's not still wandering the country...

Lightening The Load-Bearings

A day of semi-progress and semi-leisure. Moving towards a goal and purging the house of unnwanteds. Like dead things. Dead thing Mikey, dead things. Now vaulted ceilings almost seem like a must in addition to a want.

After our gross-out itchy morning of heeby-jeebies and pink glass fiber we cleaned up and did a recycling run and a storage run. We are getting out moneys worth out of that unit. We could win an award I think. It's one of the things I'm most proud of in the whole world, locked behind an orange metal door on the 3rd floor of a warehouse on business 209. Check it out. 

 Lunch at Sarah's, cuz cheap and easy. They're menu leaves little to be desired, but it's conveniently located so...

The ice festival is going on. It's better that last years but, that really isn't saying much. We put Yuula on this throne to get a shot but I guess her frozen butt noticed the throne was made of ice before I could focus so you get crying baby ice queen.

We stopped in at the record shop to see what we could see. I picked up used copies of Talking Book, a Donovan comp and Nina Simone's classic covers album Here Comes The Sun. I also delved into their bargain bin where you can get 20 lps for $10. So I did. I don't mind a little nicked up cover art. My twenty included Simon & Garfunkel's Bookends, Joni Mitchell's Blue, Carpenter's Close To Me, Jackson Browne's For Everyman, Cat Stevens Teaser And The Firecat and Air Supply's Greatest Hits. Hey I needed to get to 20. Threw a few weird one and some holiday albums in and I was at the checkout, with a handful of plastic sheets to boot.

We returned home to try and do a little more excavation upstairs but didn't get all that far. Dinner, skype with aunt Dani and now the nightly Wibbly Pig viewing where of course Laura is the one who fell asleep and Yuula is wide-eyed and ready for some forward rolls.  Maybe I'll chase her into her room with some dead attic critters.

We Have A Way Of Salvaging

We made plans last night to meet the Trunks in Bethlehem for a little holiday cheer. About halfway there Laura was pushing the limits of her new phone and looked up the parking situation only to find out that there would be plenty of parking on this Wednesday evening because Christmas City was closed. A little stunned and poorly we made the snap decision to return to our Main Street and see what we could see. It ain't new but it's knew.

They had the place lit up pretty well

Yuula did some window shopping

This was hidden down a side street

The square was barren as usual but they tree stood strong and lovely

the girls were not impressed, and hungry

After exhausting every option we ended up at Sarah Street and had some delicious meals. The girls ate each others dinner and didn't finish their ice cream. They must've known how col it was outside. Then we went to Yuppie Puppie so the girls could see what they're not getting for Christmas and we could pet bunnies. Not the night we were planning on having but we have a way of salvaging.

Ekki Múkk To Popplagið

We were seeing Sigur Rós that night. Heading to Philly, lunch was first.

Sarah's Corner Cafe for a combination of wraps and claps

then suddenly Curtis needed to buy a sewing machine, good thing we were running early

first timers are easy hazing victims

is this a picnic or a rock show?

got to love a show that's 50/50 standing and lying down

collective mind blowing

they played many of their angrier tunes

Fantastically intimate and quite different than when Laura and I saw them in the Atlanta Symphony Hall back in 2006. Glad I could experience with such great people. Bucket list times two.

recreate it

All Vampires And Bananas

Like a whirlwind, visits sweet and short. It was nice to see Christian and great to finally spend some time getting to know Katrina. The girls seem to be doing quite well for themselves and hair aficionados, working in the glamorous field of film and television, stage and screen. I can't divulge their clientele for fear of painful death but I can give you a clue: Vampires. And before you guess incorrectly let me just tell you that you probably can't guess incorrectly. Anyone want some autographs?

The day started off at the Gap bus depot. From there we were all in need of a brunch. A new place, for us, was chosen, Sarah's Corner Cafe. Looked sweet and Southern and quiet. Perfect. During breakfast we learned that Christian cannot do math, Katrina is adept at breaking & entering and we let Yuula order for us all.



Knowing the girls' penchant for period piece headgear we dropped by the Olde Engine Antiques on the way home to see if they could find any hidden treasures. Turns out they could. And turns out Yuula and I are natural head models.





I think they picked up 5 or six articles, which is good for them, but not for me who was not consulted on the decision for us all to then wear said headgear for the remainder of the evening. At least I got a pretty one.



We made them one of our favorites, Swedish beef curry, which worked Laura up into a tizzy in the kitchen, something she loves doing when it's not 9pm after a long day's work. She was even convinced to whip up a rhubarb pie when she heard that neither of our guests had ever ventured to try the stuff.

The rest of the evening went by too quickly but I remember it involved sewing machines, Green Man, a cabana, Bordeaux and a group effort in making a bed. Look here at these confusing photos.







Double Exposure! This is the beginning.