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November 27, 2007
Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday.
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November 25, 2007
Of Minks, Lamps, and Hats
Anyone who knows me knows that I have very eccentric tastes. On my recent trip to Denver, I was traveling with some friends who had not yet become quite aquatinted with my unusual obsessions, and I'm sure they were bemused at the joy a reproduction of a first-class tea cup designed for the Titanic could bring me. An even greater shock, I'm sure, was the ecstasy a reproduction turn-of-the-century touring hat purchased at the Molly Brown House gift shop could cause, especially because I was given a hat box to carry it in.
In short, I have bit of a fetish for anything Victorian or Edwardian. And I never got past playing dress up on occasion. So you can perhaps imagine the fun I had at an auction last night when I found a box of hats in varying degrees of condition and a fabulous stole made out of three ill-fated minks. My mom took a couple shots of me playing with the antiques. This one was my favorite, although there is also a fun one involving a 1930s black rayon cloak with white mink trim.
I'm delighted to say that Christmas came early this year when we went back to the auction today and saw the minks were still waiting for their turn. Even better, we managed to steal them for like 25 bucks.
Best of all-- they match my Molly Brown hat. YES!
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November 23, 2007
The Friday Uncreature, and the Creature Who Wants To Eat It
Today's two photos are inspired by a naughty, naughty puppy who can't resist propping her little paws up on the counter and poking her nose into whatever might be up there in hopes of a tasty treat. I caught her going for the remains of my breakfast of pumpkin bread just this morning, as you can see. However, she is generally very good during meal times and rarely actually steals anything-- she just wants a whiff of whatever she's missing out on.
So I caught a picture of yesterday's famed uncreature-- the unlucky bird-- from the point of view of our (self-identified) unlucky hound. Unlucky my ass, she got to lick every pan once we emptied them out onto serving dishes, and today she'll get her own Thanksgiving feast: a roasted turkey liver.
Check out the other critters on this week's (Black) Friday Ark.
Posted by Spike at 11:36 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 22, 2007
Happy Thanksgiving
The tradition of e-mailing lists of thankfulness to one another started at school (much to the Scrooge-like dismay of a couple cranky people) but I think it's lovely to be in an environment where we can share they kind of intimate information. I figure it'd be nice to see if anyone over here might catch on to doing similar if I post my list again here. It's always nice to remember the real meaning of the season before Black Friday hits and we feel compelled to go out and by 300 new things to be thankful for.
So here is a slightly more detailed Thankfulness Roster:
I am thankful for my family, and that I got a couple swift kicks in the rear this year to get to know the extended family better while I can. I was watching an old episode of the Gilmore Girls the other morning and Rory's grandfather ends up in the hospital with angina. She says to Lorelai, "I don't want him to die, I've just started getting to know him." I wasn't as lucky as Rory and lost two grandparents this year, so I'm mighty eager to get to know the rest of the bunch better before my chance goes unexpectedly *poof.*
I am thankful for the many opportunities the Honors program throws in the way of its students. It's really fabulous having all those people looking out for you and making sure that if something that would be a good life experience or a good resume item comes up, you know about it.
I am thankful that Dear Boyfriend Alex transfered to UTC, and that it's really been good for him. I'm really proud of everything he's done this year, and I am DAMN HAPPY that I don't have to see him only every two weeks anymore. I'll be quite happy if I never have to enter the city limits of Knoxville again.
I'm thankful for chances to travel. I went to Europe twice in one summer, and that is a rare and special thing.
I am thankful that I am fortunate enough to be able to share some of what I have with others. Giving is really damn important!
I'm thankful for all the friends I've made in college. Those relationships aren't as obsessively tightly knit as the ones you have in high school, but I think they are tons healthier, more interesting, and hopefully longer lasting. It's my theory that high school relationships rarely last because all that pressure from the aforementioned of obsessive tight-knitness makes them implode. I'm glad for a fresh start.
I'm ever so thankful that life is good when you have so many different directions you can take it, and they all seem equally fabulous. Wether or not I spend next fall in Washington DC, I'm cool with it. If I don't get in to the program I want, I'm going to have fabulous new roommates, and with my luck all those rare classes professors only teach occasionally will come up the one semester I can't take them!
I'm thankful I FINALLY turned 21 this year, and can now enjoy wine with my dinners out like a dignified person. No more feeling like the beverage leper is always a plus.
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November 21, 2007
Because-There-Are-No-Words-To-Describe Wednesday
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November 19, 2007
Attack of the Boxelder Bugs
This is not my photo, but it certainly is my epic struggle against these critters. They are covering the sides of my house and their babies are all over my fence. I waged an all out war on them over the weekend-- I got out the hose and sprayed the fence in hopes of washing all the youths away, and then took the hose to the parents partying on the siding. By the time I was done putting the hose away, however, they were all back. I don't know how. So I gave up and went inside...only to find one lurking on the INSIDE of my kitchen window. I took up a dishrag like a great broadsword and brandished it at the little bugger. He seemed unconcerned. So I started whacking him with it, and while I did not kill the bug, I did manage to shatter the chimney to an antique oil lamp. Bugs 1, Me 0.
I can't wait for the stupid things to fly away and find a maple tree to burrow into.
Posted by Spike at 10:18 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 18, 2007
Anatomy of Autumn
I've been meaning to post these for a while-- I've been really enjoying the scenery around town, especially every time the leaves take on a new color. It's starting to get mighty Christmasy out there with all the red leaves. I'm pretty excited!
Posted by Spike at 09:17 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
November 16, 2007
Friday Creature
This is Moe, one of Dear Boyfriend's mother's two Boston terriers. Don't be decived by the moment I captured-- sweet is not exactly the word I would use to describe them. Nothing against the Bostons, I simply don't associate the adjective "sweet" with a creature whose snores rival trucks downshifting on the highway, as a general rule. Rambunctious, friendly, amusing, and "lap-loving" are suitable replacement words for "sweet," however.
Happy friday, and as I'm so late, I'm sure you've seen the others.
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November 14, 2007
Worldess Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday.
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November 10, 2007
Bat Child Found at Chatt State
Alex and I went to see Bat Boy: The Musical at Chattanooga State. We were pleasently surprised, both by the awesomeness of the show (neither of us much care for musicals) and the number of people we knew on and off stage. I admittedly have a weakness for slightly (or completely, like, ya' know, Meatloaf) over the top, involving choruses of helpful woodland animals (A la Pete Townsend's much over-looked Iron Man), poking at the question and nature of stardom (The Who's Tommy, Andrew Lloyd Webber's Jesus Christ Superstar) and a good-natured awareness of the pitfalls many musicals fall into (nothing like Urine Town to tease the genre and then out do it). Bat Boy ponied up all of these eccentric fondnesses of mine, putting it safely on the list of the few musicals I can really stand, indicated above by my comparissons, which by the way only really left out Rocky Horror [Picture] Show for lack of any real way to tie it in. The cast has many a talented singer and actor. If you aren't convinced by now, I will add something that made me very confident the moment I had my program in my hot little hands-- in Act One there is a song called "Another Dead Cow" and its symetrical counterpart in Act Two is "Apology to a Cow." Now that's what I'm talking about.
Definantly a good way to spend an evening, and you only have two more chances; tonight and tomorrow night at 7:30, plus a 2:30 matinee on Sunday. $10 at the door and guaranteed laughter.
Posted by Spike at 10:36 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 09, 2007
Friday of the Freaky White Deer
Went up to Rock City for the first time since one of those sweetly-awkward early-adolescent dates when I was 13. Last time was around Christmas time, and they were setting up for their City of Lights business while we were there last week. It was a little bizzare enjoying the first bursts of autumn color and then coming around a rock and seeing a family of light-up Christmas gnomes frolicking at you. At any rate, my sad stockpile of Friday Creatures has been saved by the perpetual family of Rock City deer, which are freaky and white, but not albinos as far as I can tell.
Have a good weekend! Here are the other animals!
PS: Now that I keep hearing the word "deer" over and over in my head, I keep hearing it as said by the girlfriend in My Cousin Vinny, with that Brooklyn accenet. "Imagine you were a deeya, a cute littal deeya. You put ya little deeya lips in a little brook...and BAM a hunter shoots off part of ya head!"
Posted by Spike at 10:37 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
November 07, 2007
Worldess Wednesday
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November 05, 2007
Back In Black From Denver
I had the good luck and great honor of being invited to go with some other students to a conference in Denver on Wednesday and got back last night. It was a grand time, got inspired with a few new ideas for projects and really enjoyed downtown Denver. It remindes me so much of Chattanooga if we grew up a bit. Not population size I mean, but turning our emphasis from touristy things like shopping and Rock City (which are great, don't get me wrong) to culture things that happen to bring in tourists, like pumping up the Hunter even more and getting some really great theater in town. I'm just saying there are enough similarities that I think Chattanooga could really take up Denver as a sort of big sister role model. Oh! And the public transportation rocked, too. I love me some good solid bus routes.
At any rate, I'm stocked up on Worldess Wednesdays until the cows come home. Here's a little preview, and I'll see y'all again Wednesday!
Here's the nine beer sampler I got at Rock Bottom micro brewery. My personal favorites were the Lumpy Dog Lager, the brewmaster's milk stout and the Molly's Titanic Brown Ale. Yay beer!
Posted by Spike at 04:21 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack