High Line miscellany

high line_stevesphoto

I’ve been a casual cross-country observer of New York’s High Line project for some time. I must have read about it in Metropolis magazine, back in 2004/2005, when I was a religious cover-to-cover reader. But the fame of the project seems to have reached a fever pitch over the last few months, and I’m constantly seeing little … Read more

An anachronistic acquisition

acquisition

Lately, I have been thinking about buying a dictionary.

Sewing Project: Turn Pants Into a Dress

dress-pants

Over the weekend, I took apart an old pair trouser-leg cream colored pants from Gap (boring, basic and out of style) and refashioned them into this dress.

Photos From My Father

2 trouble

Last week, I received an envelope in the mail from my father containing a CD titled “Frozen Time.” The disc contained 218 images curated from my dad’s thousands of photos over years — from travels to Europe, scuba diving, and just having fun at home in Louisiana. Here are a few of my favorites. Great work, dad!

Gardening Weekend: Before/After Edition

Digging is fun!

Erl and I put in a container garden at her place last year, experimenting with square-foot gardening, a technique I learned as a kid. We had some success, but Erl decided it was time to take the plunge and expand her growing space to the entire side section of the yard. So, this weekend, we rolled up our sleeves and dug in. Literally! Before/after pics and more description at Erl’s blog.

Sending Garbage Through the Mail

mail trash

The New York Times had a nice writeup last week on Amazon’s efforts to cut down on frivolous packaging in its shipments. I am among those who have submitted customer complaints about the absolutely ludicrous packaging that you get on occasion.

I Promise, This Won’t Become a Habit

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But dang, this was good. It’s hot outside, and Katz’s on Mission was charmingly un-airconditioned. Add an everything bagel with hummus, avocado and sprouts, and you’ve got a pretty sweet lunch break in San Francisco’s tiny window of summer weather.

Top Foods in My Town? Hmmmm…

YUM: Chicken and waffles at Gussie's!

Erl recently challenged me to put together a list of “Top Foods in Your Town.” Honestly, I’ve been more impressed by the food my friends have made or that local grocers have provided than I have been by meals dished up by the pros in this town! So, here’s an unconventional list of favorite eats courtesy of San Franciscans both public and private

FOUND! Henry the Missing Caterpillar

henry_caterpillar

Henry, our missing caterpillar, found a good spot to hang his hat.

Metamorphosis and Faulty Memories

Black_Swallowtail_Papilio_polyxenes_Closeup

I grew up in rural Illinois, with pretty amazing parents, and I spent a lot of time — and I do mean a lot of time — outside. Sure, there was playing in the lake and the creek, and there were garden chores and yard mowing, but there were also school projects and non-school educational projects. My favorite of these amateur naturalist activities, I think, was the leaf collection. But another project that I’d more or less forgotten about was watching caterpillars metamorphose. Until last week. Read more

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