Musings

The “line” across the windshield is an artifact of the wiper, and not a worrisome blemish or other problem.

Through the windshield, we saw the snow pelting down (inasmuch as snow can pelt…snow, not ice). Then, after parking, we lived in the pelting snow.

Such fun for us Deep Southern Flatlanders. Truly. We bounced through snow-land to the lodge and restaurant, fortified ourselves, then worked our way downhill back to our parking space.

The snow was coming down in big flakes, fast, so that after two swipes to clean the windshield, then run back and swipe the taillights, then double-check the windshield, and whoops, it needs cleaning again.

Speaking from personal experience, when the heat comes on in the waiting car, then quit with the unending snow-cleaning, hop in, and let gravity win.

Posted at 11:16 PM | Comments Off on Endless loop (life; weather)

Love the seagulls watching over the backdoor ventilation zone of this tasty-yummy restaurant….

This is behind Judy Fu’s Snappy Dragon, highly recommended especially for potstickers and dumplings. The stack of boxes to the far right are labelled “Onion King.”

Posted at 9:48 PM | 1 Comment »

Of all things. My dictionary indicates that finial and finish are both derived from Latin finis, meaning end.

Makes sense!

To me this form evokes a stylized pineapple (kinda). And the splinters suggest it may be made of pine (wood).

These…conjunctions, they do stack up!

Posted at 7:24 PM | Comments Off on Finals are fun

At New Year’s, Atlanta has a peach drop. (I’ve had lemon drops, but never a peach-flavored one….)

Then, in January, there’s a pig-head drop. It’s not an official event, but we caught it this year. Macy’s at Lenox Square Mall sponsors a Pink Pig “holiday ride” with pink pig heads on high poles to advertise the tent below that surrounds the ride. (Extra credit: guess what color the tent is.)

This shot is from when we entered the mall. By the time we left, the heads were bubble-wrapped, ready for shipping and warehousing for another eleven months or so.

Posted at 6:33 PM | Comments Off on January reset

I loved the sun today. I loved that the park* was (almost) mine. Other denizens included carousel horses (very quiet), a wide assortment of birds, and, over about sixty-five minutes, nine people. No lie. The park was dehumanized. In the sun, cold (for ATL), but only breezy, and not too bad—if you could keep moving and had “the right” coat, hat, etc.

* Piedmont Park, of course. Birds included mallards and muscovys, sparrows, robins, cardinals, mockingbirds, and those are the ones I remember.

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on Park demography, brief sample

The story here is the cold. It’s cold—for ATL—today, not above freezing. But the real story is tomorrow—single digits. Brrrr.

Sure, we can photo ice to show “cold,” but plants can tell the story, too. This plant (not sure what) is rather limp, reacting to the temperature. I’m thinking it’s really going to suffer when we lose another 20°F.

We’ll see if I get back here to check on it tomorrow….

Posted at 10:22 PM | 1 Comment »

I pushed myself to get out and walk today, not knowing how grimly cold it’ll be tomorrow—and, more so, the next day. There’s a giant culvert behind the fringe of hanging vines, with flowing water. But not by dawn tomorrow. I just heard a meteorologist say we may not have above-freezing temps for the next four days.

Fortunately, I have a giant down coat—ugly but functional—so I…should…be able to get out. And a face-covering hat (also ugly). And thinsulate gloves (very worn, but still; neither ugly nor pizzazz-y).

Posted at 11:31 PM | Comments Off on Ugly-clothing ready

Love the Mother Russia sentiment at the top: “make youre day savoury” (spell check is on edge about two of the words).

There are worse words to live by…but I’m not sure I’d turn to oily herring steaks to make my life more savory, at least not first. Or second. Or third….

* Dicho is Spanish for saying/adage. Like “don’t count your chickens…” and “takes one to know one,” that kind of thing.

Posted at 4:43 PM | 2 Comments »

By adding this appliqué to this huge planter, the designer-manufacturer added production steps. That made it more expensive to make. I’m guessing they also figured it would sell more pots.

Posted at 10:22 PM | 1 Comment »

Do you suppose they partied so hard bringing in the new year that they blew off the roof and then decided to renovate/remodel?

Posted at 5:46 PM | 1 Comment »