Wan Smol Blog

Father-and-son weekend getaway. Here’s Oliver at Wrightsville Beach.

Spring’s first color.

I am going to watch every single video by the Marsh Family! Sweet COVID-19 relief. Read here and then find them on YouTube.

For 15 years Krankies in Winston-Salem has been our go-to stop for coffee on our trips to and from Cleveland. It’s 90 minutes from Chapel Hill so a good milestone. On this weeekend to rest and reflect, I am happy sitting here, thinking about my goals and looking forward.

The cold rain in Charlotte was too much so I retreated to Winston-Salem yesterday, walked the streets (still raining), slept in the cool Indigo Hotel. This morning I was delighted to walk the Long Branch Trail, a bit like the High Line in NYC. Now coffee at Krankie’s.

Weekend getaway to unwind and reset,read, write, last night drove to Charlotte. Woke early from a dream in which I referenced a dream from the other night (not sure I’ve ever noticed that before). Took a long walk through the cold rain to Enderly Coffee Co. no rush to get back.

Just finished watching The Dig about Basil Brown, Edith Pretty, and the Sutton Hoo excavation. Enjoyed the film very much, thank you.

I retrieved this brown egg and one of the pointy white eggs from the coop this morning. I bet the brown has a double yoke, which will be a delicious coincidence on the day Donald Trump has been impeached for the second time.

Lucky day: Went to YouTube to find a review of the Audient EVO 8 audio interface, found this one and right there in the middle is a great rendition of my favorite song, Solsbury Hill.

Cold morning in Chapel Hill but clear after yesterday‘s rain. I brewed coffee, filled the chickens’ water can, and walked out to the back corner of the land to sit on a rock and listen to birds. Very peaceful this morning, though the country is in turmoil.

Our family movie night was with the delightful Hunt for the Wilderpeople.

A pair of great horned owls are out in the woods tonight, female hooting first and male answering, nature’s way of calling in the new year.

Family sat around the table with back issues of Dwell, talking about what features we want in the new house we’ll soon be building. Then we walked out in the light rain to the corner of the land where we hope to build that house in 2021.

Richard Gildenmeister died this month at age 88 (obituary here). He was a legendary bookseller in Cleveland for 55 years, and my friend for 20 years. There are plenty of mentions of him in my blog archives, including the story of our trip to New York City and the day we spent with architect Philip Johnson at The Glass House.

I found an audio recording of a conversation he and I had in 2011 when I was up in Cleveland for Thanksgiving, and another audio clip of his answering machine message, and I’ve put them together into this Coconut Wireless microcast. It was an honor to know Richard.

Saddened by the news that my good friend, Richard “Book General” Gildenmeister, died earlier this month. He was 88, a legend in Cleveland bookselling. He and I once took a trip to NYC, and had lunch with architect Philip Johnson. I’ll blog more, but wanted to mark his passing.

Recipe hunting for the pork belly I bought yesterday from Cane Creek Farm at the Carrboro Farmers Market.

Cold, clear day in Chapel Hill. I stopped by the Carrboro Farmers Market, picked up vegetable broth and a beautiful cut of pork belly. Heading home for Boxing Day football and a new book.

Just talked to my father in Honolulu. He’s still sifting through the many photos & slides he took in the 1960s, like this one from his time as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic. He’s got many 2 ¼ x 2 ¼ slides. What scanner can I get to digitize those?

This red tailed hawk was stuck in the fencing around the chicken yard. While Malia rounded up all 10 hens, I freed and pardoned the raptor. Beautiful bird, sharp talons.

Breakfast and coffee at the dining table, looking south, noticing the sun slanting through the woods and the tops of the pine trees swaying in a light breeze.

Warm tamales just delivered from another neighbor.

So lucky to have a neighbor who is a hobby astronomer with good telescopes. He set up on the hill behind the high school and invited us and others to see the Jupiter-Saturn convergence. I saw Saturn’s rings and 4 of Jupiter’s moons lined up.

Turkey necks and wings have been roasted, and now are nestled in a pot of water for a 12-hour simmer in the oven at 200°F. Tomorrow’s stock will be Thursday’s gravy.

Internet restored after two days (since wire cut in construction mishap). Was very difficult to work by mobile hotspot. So gad to be back on the information superhighway.