why we are thankful

from olden times:

Throughout history, European settlers have thanked god for help killing off indigenous populations. Because I would literally be here until the next Thanksgiving if I tried to compile all the “thanks for the extermination back up, God” quotes, I’m going to focus on the way a particular massacre inspired gratitude and thanksgiving celebration among the British.

thanksgiving 2014

an excellent thanksgiving feed with friends --- plenty of food and drink, beginning with cranberry-rum punch --- thanks robert and mary and brian and aaron and maria!

dog food

the concierge passed out bacon-flavored dog treats at halloween, and the dogs haven't gotten over the transition since to bull-shit milk bones --- this one was peanut butter from aunt mary, so he eventually did the doggie thing and ate it --- but he's apparently the only dog in the building that flat out refuses the non-bacon treats from the concierge ---

he would probably have been happier living with a carnivore

the retriever in the video below defines "wolfing" one's food --- under 4 seconds and it's gone --- something you might have expected out of the shepherd, which wound up making a big ol' mess while taking nearly 3 minutes to finish

what are "deadlines"?

a nice long walk in the park with dog --- after several productive hours at the keyboard and a call from my client wondering if this big-ass report i'm putting together for him might be done by xmas --- i hate deadlines


historically, a deadline was a line drawn around a prison, beyond which prisoners were liable to be shot.

another long-ass meeting

four-plus hours, and we were promised an even longer meeting next time ---

sliding toward winter

it rained purty much non-stop all day today --- got a lot done, desk-wise --- with enough clearing toward sunset to make for a fine sky

east palisades

it's really kinda wonderful that all of this is inside the city limits of atlanta --- well, except the first one here, where we're looking into the wilds of cobb county --- there will be fewer of such excellent days in the woods over the next few months

seasonal aromas

besides the yellow cattleya, the chocolate-scented oncidium is beside itself with bloomage

and the three zygopetalum stems are in full flower, with their excellent peppery aroma


one of the phaleonopsis is budding, too, so it won't be long till they'll all be blooming --- no smell there but lots of color

old shoes and old roads

the internets are so wondrous in the things one can dredge up --- like "the world's oldest shoes," the one at left carbon-dated to 9,500 years ago ---- so one looks for the oldest leather shoe

and a view of this little unit, a copy of the gospels, buried with st. cuthbert on lindisfarne in the seventh century --- oh, i want to fondle it

otherewise i wasted the day polishing up three of the peachtree web pages after a dear friend took the time to "review and comment" --- working alone can be a problem for a middle child and someone with my numerous insecurities (which might or might not be redundant), so it's wonderful when one of the several who might promise to do so actually gives me some feedback  --- thanks, andrew

improvising my life, cont'd.

i've been working, honest i have --- i'm not done, but it's a start

last of the flowers

 it's gonna be freezing ass cold for the next few days ---

lights!

cold air rolling in, so all the plants are inside --- much below normal, more like january than november for the next week or so --- perfect weather for members preview of abg's garden lights extravaganza --- bigger and better than ever

sweet hut!

the plywood barricade at sweet hut came down today and we have our sidewalk back! and from the looks of things, they may open this weekend --- they're right at the front entrance to metropolis, which has been dark for over a year, actually longer than that if you count the dismal time that drew lewis was there --- good to see this!

cluttering up the place

got the two prints i brought back from cuba done today and added a mat to the two i got in 2002 --- all from el taller experimental de gráfica de la habana

the artiste left a raggedy-ass edge there on the right that is not square with anything --- i hope that i have handled that issue correctly in matting and frame ---

i've never had anything on  my bedroom wall, but i kinda like this --- john pulled the japanese woodcut of a  peacock at center below and a bunch of other stuff from the dumpster at the uga library in 1971 --- it's a little sad that i can't do better than stick it in the guest facility, but i don't have a lot of space with which to work, and i figure people will enjoy looking at it while they pee

purty sweet

the 2014 election mandate

usa! usa! usa!

coming into a frosty moon

i love the river this time of year --- ok, i love the river any time of year, but in the fall especially --- kinda chilly today, so not so many people out --- but it's trout season so there was a lot of wading in the river going on --- might be frost tonight

poor choices

 the lousy election results that they promised have come true --- "nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the american people" --- but it was a great evening with cousin susan at the hyatt watching it happen

i'm dreading the next two years in politics