Not Last Night, But The Night Before

Twenty-four robbers came knocking at my door.

Well, really it was two weeks ago Friday, and probably only two robbers, but yes, some shithead(s) broke into my house.

I came home around 10:15 PM to find the violation. You know those studies that talk about how unobservant we are - even when we think we are observant? I can testify to the accuracy of them.

It DID feel wrong when I came in the house. The obvious thing was no cat greetings. My gaze swung right; there was Finn sitting petrified under the end table. No sign of the other two. In slow motion, one by one, things popped into consciousness:
The laundry closet door ajar (my first thought - those damn cats!).
The open drawers in the kitchen island (my second thought - that damn Finnbarr!).
The out of place bench that is usually under the kitchen window (my third thought - what kind of skirmish did those blasted cats have!?).
Finally, the substance on top of the now askew bench which my brain languidly identified as broken glass (my fourth thought - did those fucking cats have a kegger?!).
Then and only then did the light bulb come on.

It took until the NEXT DAY for me to realize the biggest key that something was wrong - all the lights were on. So much for observant.

I called the sheriff (911 doesn't work for the county. I mean it works - in that when you call they transfer you to the sheriff's dept.), then Jim and Daphne. Jim made a Wal-mart run for heavy duty tarp and tape, Daphne stayed on the phone with me until the deputy got there (sheriff's dept. didn't). Texted the OSD who promptly called.
The deputy was quite funny and very kind. We discerned the only things missing were a pearl and gold bracelet and a pillowcase (to haul off all the loot presumably). We found Oscar in my bathtub (the extra scary Apocalypse Is HERE NOW hiding place); Lillie was under the guest bed. They were all fine, except for the heart palpitations.

As he left we had a little laugh at my now ironic doormat:

He joked that I needed to move that around back. 

OSD stayed on the phone with me until 3:00 AM my time (he's on the west coast time), which was quite kind. 

Over two weeks later, I still don't have a new window, not completely. They broke the new one as they were installing it. 

That happened.

Maybe Monday. But actually, I'm starting to like the look of tarp...

Classic, no? 

Durham, It's Not For Everyone

Of the three towns [Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Durham] I've lived in since moving to NC ten and half years ago, none are as urbanly, edgy, gritty, dangerously I-barely-give-a-shit kind of cool as Durham.

Carrboro is arty but a bit weird, like your aunt who does full moon ceremonies in the back yard and reads tarot cards. Poor old Chapel Hill wants to be hip, but falls flat. It's staid, starchy, and makes me think of bow-ties and suspenders.

Raleigh is too big and spread out to be cool, although they try desperately. Their little acorn is so... cute. Whatev Raleigh. We've got a MFing BULL, bitches.

Ten years ago, Durham was very different. Downtown was non-existent; boarded up buildings, zero people walking around. Now, all times of the day and night, people are out walking, shopping, eating.
(The New York Times listed Durham as one of four domestic locations in its compilation of “The 41 Places to Go in 2011,”) 

Here's a tasty article on the evolution of Durham's local food culture. Rough around the edges, and proud of it. Keep it dirty Durham.

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Gin Wigmore's "Black Sheep":

Fingers Crossed

• Thank you for all the good thoughts - they're working! The knot in my thigh is much smaller. Still having excruciating leg cramps almost every night, even with drinking lots of water and taking potassium. Ugh. (Feel free to add that to the good thoughts list)

• We're in Oregon weather mode, which would be fine if we were in Oregon; looking like it will continue through Tuesday or Wednesday.

• Finally corralled Mr. Wilde into a carrier yesterday (still possess all of my limbs!) and took him to the vet for a nail trim. Ah, blessed silence - no more clickclickclick! He was mad at every living thing in the house when he got back. Didn't want me to pet him, wouldn't accept a piece of chicken. That's pissed.

• Acorns are falling from the two big white oaks in the side yard; sometimes it sounds like a hailstorm when I'm in the home "office" (a.k.a. my guest room closet).

• After our abbreviated walk around the Duke East Campus yesterday, we ate at the adorable little Hummingbird Bakery. Oh my god - butterscotch custard! Then went shoe shopping right next door. Custard and SHOES! Could life be more perfect?! I bought a pair of earrings (they were in my price range, whereas the shoes were not): 

Sterling silver earrings by Karen Schmelzer

• It's almost Oscar Wilde's 159th birthday (the man, not the cat.).

• That's all I have dear readers. Have a good week. And thanks for all the love.

What A Day

Yesterday was N.C. Pride. Several of us went to Charlie's on Ninth Street in Durham for the parade where our hairdresser, JP, had saved us front row seats.

Lovely day for a parade

Photo credit - D.F. That's me on the right

All manner of persuasions showed up; there was a lot of love on Ninth Street. Everyone happy to be there.

My favorite float said simply, "God Adores You." 

I teared up. 

I did.  

Then I reenacted this scene from "Elf" when I saw Mary K Mart (from Drag Bingo) on the AAS-C float (Mary K Mart - I know HER!):

There were some haters somewhere, but I didn't see them. My Libra comes out around people like that. And not in the peacemaker sense. More like the iron fist in the velvet glove way - only the gloves are off.

I want to mash their buttons (as we say here in the South). Mash. Them. Hard.

I had one Bloody Mary too many. Which made me really friendly. And inclined to take tattoo pictures with people I met like two seconds ago. 

Photo Credit - D.F.

Photo Credit - D.F. (OSD said I looked "like some bad ass biker chick.")

Just had the best time.

And once again felt proud to live in Durham.

So...

Today is my baby brother's 50th birthday and I spent almost $25 dollars on glucosamine tablets, both of which make me feel old.

My hip's been painin' me for a few weeks and after a second person recommended the glucosamine, I listened. The pain makes me remember sleeping on the floor of the youth hostel in Northern Ireland oh so many years ago where the combination of jet lag, stinky duck feather pillow, and hip pain kept me awake so I could enjoy the drunken 4 AM serenades.

Took the back way home from buying my old lady drugs supplements; at one end of the street it was not raining, but at the other end (less than a mile) it was raining Florida hard. If you've ever lived in Florida you know what I'm talking about. The kind of sudden rain that comes on so hard the fastest wiper speed isn't fast enough; you can't see the front of your car. (But you do not pull over, that would admit some sort of weakness.) It rains monsoon hard for about twenty minutes, then stops.

Friday night was extra fun. Our sales director was in town for a couple of work events and we met the bosses at Fullsteam brewery.  Before the bosses arrived we meandered across the street to Motorco because the duck fat tater tot truck (aka Kokyu) was there.

Duck fat tots, Taku (korean bbq taco), sweet potato fries, spicy India slaw  pulled pork slider

We wandered back across the street to Fullsteam and after a beer or two (half pint of cream shandy for me),  we went in search of edibles that were not from a food truck. First stop, Geer Street Garden, but it was packed with a long wait. We popped into Cocoa Cinnamon across the street, but the tiny cheesecakes and other sweet things were not scratching our savory itch.
We continued along Foster Street to Piedmont Restaurant where we found great art, but no small plates (and less than par service). Up Foster another block, turned left on Chapel Hill Street, to Rue Cler, where we found fantastic small plates AND service. Asparagus with Bearnaise, pomme frites (with the same amazing Bearnaise), a slab of Gratin Dauphinois that looked like a piece of cake, kale and mushroom crepe, and salad frisee.

Sated, we sauntered down Rigsbee, stopping for a moment to watch a movie they were showing in Central Park. We had come full circle; back at Fullsteam. Durham at its best.

Happy birthday to my favorite brother. Please stay away from the Motrin.

How In the World

Has it been almost a month since I last posted?! Guess I don't have much to say, unless, of course, you want to hear about DNA results.

Without my mother's antics, I fear I am very dull indeed.

Speaking of Mom, the year anniversary is really an amazing thing; I'm much less prone to spontaneous waterworks. Yesterday I did get a bit teary driving past all the redbuds in bloom along 15/501. She would have said they were pretty about nine hundred times. 

We are having our two days of spring here in NC as evidenced by this:

And this:

The weather this weekend has been perfect - cool in the morning (mid 40's - 50's), 70's in the afternoon. 

The air smells crisp and fresh - sun dried sheets and grass. Yes, lawn mowing season is upon us already. 

Yesterday afternoon, several of us went to funky Ninth Street for a look at Zola Craft Gallery, popped into Vaguely Reminiscent (pink sunglasses!), then walked a few blocks down Iredell Street, (people waving from their cute Craftsmen porches), to a photography exhibit opening at Craven Allen. 

It was crowded and hot in there, but what I saw of the exhibit was great. We sauntered down a few storefronts to The Palace International for some African food. Sat outside, people watching, enjoying great food. 

On the building next door was this bit of graffiti:

It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

Yum Yum V - The Last Supper

Yesterday was busy, y'all!

Got up a little past weekday time (6:40 am) to take Oscar to get his claws trimmed at the vet at 8:00 am. (We do not want want a repeat of the ingrown dewclaw incident of October past.) Then we scooted to work (right next door) to get the information for a CD that sold on Amazon and to the PO to mail it. Oscar's so good in the car, he settles in his carrier and doesn't make a peep.

Back home, while Oscar huffed around reestablishing his dominance, (lest anyone forgot in the 45 minutes he was gone, heh), I rearranged the furniture, and... put it right back.

A three mile walk was next, then to Dogstar for a tattoo photo shoot now that it's completely healed; back home for a couple of hours, and finally, Yum Yum Supper Club for the last supper.

The first course:
-House cured Ham salad on benne seed cracker, soft herb salad (so good)
-Deviled farm egg, fried Ashley farms chicken skins, hot sauce (so good x two)
-Cornmeal cake, Ashe county cheddar pimento cheese, pickled celery hearts,
-Buttermilk biscuit, local apple jam, aged white cheddar

There were fantastic drinks involving moonshine, chai, ginger beer, lavender syrup, rosemary, bourbon and a bunch of other stuff in various combinations. Plus beer from Fullsteam and wine. 

Second course was a delicious watercress salad with honey roasted beets, toasted pecans, goat cheese, and grapefruit.

Third course: sausages in a yummy red bean concoction served over rice.

Fourth course: salted chocolate chess pie with caramel sauce (straw please!) and whipped cream. Holy mother of pearl was that good.

I didn't take any pictures of the food. Took lots of the decorations instead.

Today is definitely a pajama day!

Fairy lights on the floor

Balloons and paper lanterns

Reflection of the lanterns in the window - with flash

Reflection - without flash

Food Truck Rodeo

Yesterday several of us went to the Food Truck Rodeo at Durham's Central Park. Many of the trucks were under the pavilion, a nice alternative to the sweltering sidewalk on a hot sticky day. Wonder if that's why the longest lines were for those trucks...hmmmmm.

Food Truck Rodeo, Foster Street, Durham

We did a preliminary stroll, looking for the Duckfat Tater Tot truck, because those tots are some major goodness (the buffalo chicken slider is damn good too). Alas, our search was in vain.

So good!

We decided on The Sausage Wagon and Chirba Chirba. Chirba Chirba's line was loooooong, so we split up to stand in both lines. I decided on the spicy Italian sausage; they very nicely deleted the peppers from the onions! (green peppers are gross). The mustard was not as spicy as I remember, but still good. We climbed the hill to the park behind the pavilion, just in time for a butterfly bench by Vega Metals to become available, and stuffed our faces with dumplings and sausage while plotting our dessert. 

When Atkins becomes a lifestyle, you blow off certain carbs in exchange for others. As I didn't eat the bun with my sausage, my eye was on the mauve truck containing Sweet Stacey Cakes. Those of us in the relatively short cupcake line were happy we weren't in line for the crepe truck - that line was crazy. 

I choose a Lemon Lavender and a Cheerwine Velvet (their take on red velvet). While I liked the Cheerwine Velvet (ate all of it), I preferred the Lemon Lavender. I am not a big fan of frosting and didn't eat most of it. 

The others headed off to the ice cream line at The Parlour. I wasn't going to get anything, but when I saw the flavours... a scoop each of Salted Caramel and Brown Sugar Peach topped with salted caramel whipped cream. The peach was the best, fresh and just lightly sweet. 

Afterward I felt shaky from all the sugar and too full. If I do it again, I'll get the Lemon cupcake (take off the frosting) and one scoop of the peach ice cream. (in my defense I offered to share both cupcakes and someone else ate 1/2 the lemon - so there.)

Recently I read an article on the food truck movement in Durham; the writer felt it was too trendy, expensive, and a little precious. 

It is hard (and messy) to stand and eat, but it's also a fun way to sample a lot of food, as long as you have time to stand in line - a group is great if you're willing to split up for a bit. (Observation: the only people in line at the Raw Food truck, were young thin white females. Just sayin...) 

Several of the trucks now have store fronts - Only  Burger and Daisy Cakes to name two. I overheard that The Parlour is next, thanks to KickStarter. 

Some rodeo tips: start early, wear comfortable shoes, sunscreen, and bring cash - some of the trucks don't take credit cards. 

Art Everywhere

Hi, it's me. The slacker blogger.

Last week we went on the Durham Art Walk. First we had a snack at Daisy Cakes to fortify us. A chocolate truffle brownie for me.

Cricket Forge was giving these away:

Made of tin. 

Lots of great downtown stuff. A good downtown is the soul of a place.

Both my purchases were leaves - this beautiful photograph of sculptural dead leaves:

And this small metal leaf from Cricket Forge:

Afterward several of us went to Parker and Otis.

No pickle relish in the deviled eggs. Fail.

Lovely day. Lovely company. Lovely art.