Stacyverb

Summer hibernation

Summer's been making me grouchy this week. Either it's brain-meltingly hot, or it's thunderstorming, or a million bugs are trying to attack me, or some such crap.  Mentally, I'm just trying to escape from it all.

Last weekend I camped out in front of the air-conditioner, closed the curtains and watched, like, eight episodes of True Blood (season four).  To me, it's the ideal viewing for days when it's just too hot to step outside.  The whole show feels swampy, and steamy, and requires no thought whatsoever.  People are always getting naked on there, which makes perfect sense on these days when you run out of layers to remove in an attempt to cool off.  Also, the vampires' nocturnal lifestyle holds a lot of appeal when there's so much oppressive sun and heat in real life.

Meanwhile, I've been reading this book about the plague which, in a weird way, is totally a feel-good story.  Because no matter how miserable you feel, or how big your problems are, you probably didn't spend your day nursing three putrefying family members in your one-room house until they all died within hours of each other and needed to be buried in a mass grave that you had to dig with your own bare hands, RIGHT?  Perspective, folks!

Escapism is good, and since a vaycay is not in the cards for me this summer, I'm living vicariously through others.  Eartha Kitsch's recent posts about her cruise to Alaska had me green with envy (her home remodeling disaster posts, not so much). 

Speaking of home-related projects, when you can't leave town for a change of scenery, the next best thing is collecting Pinterest pictures of ways you can change how things look around your house.  Not that I can afford to buy any of these textiles, fixtures, etc., to spruce up Boogaloo Acres right now (shoot, I still haven't managed to scrounge up the spare cash for more spray paint to finish my glider project), but there's nothing wrong with a little eye candy, is there?

Anthony and I did treat ourselves to a modest night out at Twain's, where we met up with some friends to hear our other friends' band.

Wow, this post is kinda disjointed and rambling, but that's the state of my brain at the moment.  You know how sometimes you just feel out of it?  That's me this week.  (But hey, at least I don't have the plague!)

Backyard Market

On Saturday, BestGalPal Christy and I ventured OTP* for a little day trip to visit our friend Melissa.  About two years ago, Melissa left the hustle and bustle of city life behind and moved up to the tiny north Georgia town of Ball Ground.  A few months ago, she opened a little shop called Backyard Market, dedicated to selling local handmade goods and produce.

(I don't think we look too bad, considering it 105 degrees that day.) 

It was so great to see Melissa, her shop, and her baby bump (still small, and obscured here by horizontal stripes, but exciting nonetheless).  Next time you're heading north to the mountains, make a stop at Backyard Market!

* For you non-Atlantans, that means Outside The Perimeter, or outside the I-285 loop that encircles the city.

Snapshot: Heat wave

So the temperature is 105, but it feels like it's only 104.  How refreshing!  And tomorrow will feel like 112??  Wheeee. {melting}

Big Bang Ball at the Goat Farm

Over the weekend, my sweetie and I went to the first annual Big Bang Ball at the Goat Farm.  The beautiful warehouse ruins of this urban anomaly made the perfect setting for the event's theme, "A Modern Dustbowl Carnival." 

 

A line-up of awesome bands (like Villain Family) performed throughout the evening in this gorgeous bare bones old factory building. 

 

I can't remember the details about this "lion" act, except that I think his name was Walter.  And I know that he was crocheted!  He was pretty impressive.

 

Snake oil salesman Dr. Cornelius Fizzywater promised to cure the crowd of "all ailments, darkening moods, and bad dancing."

 

Lera Lynn and her great band rocked the house as a freight train chugged slowly past, right outside the window.  Perfect for the atmosphere.

 

The always spectacular Sadie Hawkins performed on her aerial hoop, accompanied by the music of Flight of Swallows.

 

Because this is an equal opportunity blog, here are some scantily clad men as well!  These guys are part of the Empire Wrestling league (formerly known as Platinum Championship Wrestling).

 

Headliners Blair Crimmins and the Hookers ended the festivities on a high note with their trademark New Orleans jazz stylings.  Alert readers might remember when Anthony was an extra in the band's "Old Man Cabbage" video (shot at the Goat Farm).

 

Hundreds of people dancing their butts off to hot jazz in an even hotter room until one o'clock in the morning--now that's what I call a fun summer party!

 

Okay, so I can't really pass for an old timey person, even in sepia.  Oh well.  Also, my face was totally melting off.  That amazing old bare bones factory really provides an authentic old timey summer feeling (i.e. un-airconditioned).  It was worth it, though. :)

Spotlight: Lera Lynn

This week I discovered this little treasure from Athens, GA-based artist Lera Lynn.

 

That's a cover of TV On The Radio's song from a few years ago, "Wolf Like Me."  I cannot stop playing this over and over again.  It's so unlike the original, yet so fantastic.  And for the record, I'm definitely part of the reason this version currently has over two million hits on YouTube.  I'm a huge fan of the TotR original, and that Letterman performance is spectacular.

Lera Lynn's version is less about savagery, more about seduction.  It takes an approach that's less apocalyptic, more existential.  Put another way: it's less Mad Max, more True Blood.

To me, this is what the best cover songs are all about.  An artist like Lera Lynn sees the potential for a song, which she obviously already loves, to become something else entirely.  And the original song is so good, the lyrics and story and structure so strong, that it can stand up to multiple interpretations without losing any of its power.

Lera Lynn will be playing at the Big Bang Ball later this month, which I really hope (fingers crossed that scheduling and cash flow will align) to be attending.  I already wanted to go anyway, but having seen this, I'm even more excited about it.

What are your favorite cover songs?

Kudzu Antiques

I love poking around in junk stores.  Whether I buy anything or not, it's just fun to look at random crap.  Places that have "antique" in their name generally intimidate me, though.  They sound like they're full of old, valuable stuff that I can't afford and will probably break.  But I do love visiting Kudzu Antiques, just for fun.

This lady greets you as you approach from the west...

 

...and this one welcomes you if you're coming from the east.

 

One of my favorite sections is their salt and pepper shaker area.  I don't know why--I have no interest in collecting salt and pepper shakers--but they're fun to look at.  (I must admit, the Fonzie set did tempt me briefly.  It would go great with the diner theme we have going in the kitchen of Boogaloo Acres!  I resisted.  It is cute, though.  The juke box is for pepper and Fonzie gets the salt.)

 

Kudzu doesn't take itself too seriously.  There are crazy tableaux like these everywhere.  Some are using the word "antique" rather loosely, I'd say.

 

Some of the items are no doubt actually quite valuable, like this old shoe-shine chair.  When I see stuff like this, I get curious about so many things: Who will buy it?  What will they do with it?  I want to follow this chair home and see what happens.

 

How cute is this turquoise fridge?  And I can't believe I almost missed the fact that there was a small plane above my head.

 

This visit wasn't really about buying, just exploring.  We did make some purchases from the vintage beverage area before heading home, though.  These are all bottled by a company in Washington state, using the original formulas (real cane sugar! no high fructose corn syrup or nutra-sweet!).  Anthony chose his old favorite, Frostie Root Beer, and I couldn't resist trying the "private label" cola.  De-lish! 

Next time you're on the east side of the ATL, stop by Kudzu to shop, gawk around, or just pick up a tasty drink!

St. Vincent at Variety Playhouse

Last night some friends and I went to the St. Vincent show at the Variety Playhouse in Little Five Points. 

We've had these tickets since January.  It had been a long time since I'd bought tickets to an event way in advance and then waited for the night to arrive.  The anticipation of something like that adds an extra layer of excitement, I think.

St. Vincent (aka Annie Clark) is a ridiculously talented guitarist, songwriter and singer.  Her music can be plaintive and lovely, and it can be visceral and aggressive.  She's also very stylish (bonus!).

I totally stole borrowed this photo from Wikipedia.  But by coincidence, this is the outfit she was wearing at our show!  How convenient. :)

The show was really thrilling, with Annie and her band playing songs from all three of her albums.  So much energy and creativity and skill--what an awe-inspiring way to spend a late spring evening.

Sunday scorcher

It had been a while since Anthony and I had visited the Atlanta Botanical Garden, so we decided to spend some time there today.  Our membership is about to expire, so we just had to take advantage of it one more time. 

So much for that bit of a "cold" spell we had last week--temps reached the 90s today.  I took lots of pictures, but am spotlighting the pretty things I saw that thrive on a hot hot hot day like today.

 

These orchids might be my favorite thing I saw today.  The color combination is exactly what my eye craves in the haze of humid Atlanta summers--hot, bright, unmissable.

 

The steam of the conservatory makes it easy to pretend you're on a tropical adventure in a lush jungle somewhere.

 

Post-Garden treat, speaking of tropical: Italian ice in Island Fusion flavor.  Mango, coconut, and I don't know what else.  Soooo good.  Several years ago, they were handing out piles of coupons for FREE Rita's ice at Anthony's job.  We're still working off of that stack!  (It was a lot of coupons.)  This really hit the spot after tackling all those hills in the blazing sun.

Back home, showered and rehydrated, I made a spicy veggie stir fry for dinner, and might paint my toenails purple tonight.  Hope you all had a fabulous weekend!

So what if your head explodes?

In the past couple of weeks, Atlanta has been setting new records for crazy high pollen counts.  It's normal for yellow-green dust to coat everything here at this time of year, but this spring has been INSANE because of the mild winter and early warm temps.

Even people who've never had allergies are suffering this time around.  Me, I'm more of an autumn allergy girl, so all I've had in the past few weeks has been some sinus pressure and sometimes a sore throat.  No biggie compared to the snotty misery many are experiencing, that is if they're not just knocked incoherent on allergy meds.

 

But there is an upside.  This azalea was thisclose to blooming for quite a while, and then one morning and I went out and BOOM, there it was.  Despite the fact that I'm the one who planted this bush, it continues to stay alive.  That must be because I've never done anything to it except dig a hole and stick it in the ground.  My brown thumb hasn't touched it enough to curse it.

 

Ditto this lovely Japanese maple tree.  I wish you all could know what a tiny twig it was when I planted it a few years ago, and now it's about five feet tall and thriving.  Again, that's because I haven't done anything to it.  No "gardening"--no, that's the kiss of death for any plant I get involved with.  Better to just plant it, walk away, and let the pollen work its magic.

Author Talk: Anne and Sam Lamott

Last night, as part of the Dekalb County Public Library's Author Talks series, I went to a reading by author Anne Lamott and her son, Sam.

When I learned about the event a week or two ago, I debated about whether or not to go.  Lamott's book Bird by Bird is a classic about the craft of writing, and I've owned a well-loved copy of it for years.  But to be honest, I haven't read any of Lamott's other books and wasn't particularly interested in the topic of the talk, the new book on which she collaborated with Sam about the birth of his son and her own transition into grandmotherhood.  So I was torn, but in the end I decided to go.

 

Sam and Anne Lamott

 

The Lamotts took turns reading passages from the new book, Some Assembly Required, and bantered a bit in between.  The readings were funny, and moving, and the familial chemistry between mother and son was clear: these are two people who genuinely not only love, but like each other.  After the readings, they took a few questions from the audience.  Some were about this book specifically, while others were about the craft of writing.  It was nice to see that I wasn't the only one who came to the event because of BbB.

Following the Q & A, the Lamotts signed copies of SAR.  As the crowd began to form a line, Anne made her way to the signing table and passed by where I was, and stopped to chat with me.  She saw I was holding my copy of BbB and graciously offered to sign it (so often, authors won't sign anything but their current book, let alone a dog-eared paperback copy of an old one).  She was very kind, and before she continued on toward the signing table, she thanked me for coming and gave me a hug.

 

Anne Lamott and me, now BFFs (well, okay, not really)

 

Hearing Lamott speak in her honest, funny way about writing reminded me that it's important for me to make time for literary "stuff" in my life--writing, reading, and talking to others who love those things.  Even just flipping through BbB while I was waiting, re-reading passages I'd underlined long ago, I found myself nodding a lot and thinking, "YES, that makes sense."  I'm really glad I decided to take a chance on this event.