write novel, buy eggs

Time to Take Off

2010-11-26T10:15:00.010-05:00

The time is right, dear readers. It's time for the final post and a sweet goodbye to Write Novel, Buy Eggs. Thanks to friends and the friendly (mostly) strangers who have read, commented, or contributed to what my pal Jen calls my "quirky little blog." Blogging is a funny thing. For me it started out as a creative distraction while I attempted to write some sample chapters for a book proposal. The book, I eventually discovered, was one I had no passion to see through to the end...or even the beginning, to be completely honest here. When I started the blog, I didn't realize that, though. I was inspired by lists and writer Sasha Cagen's short-lived T0-Do List magazine, which I used to follow when I lived in the Bay Area, and her book by the same name. I entered my first spare and artless post in June 2008. Over the last two years I've blended food references, literary events, books, daily minutia, and random nods to the band X into the lists. My initial feeling was that you can learn a lot about yourself from lists, so I kept a pretty lean format. A food writer friend didn't seem to get it and suggested I include some narrative. I tried it. Then another writer friend quickly let me know she missed the lists. One author told me she loved reading the posts each morning. She said she felt they were like "little prayers." I liked that. In the end, whatever your motivation, writing a blog has to satisfy you first. I know a lot of people blog to promote themselves and their work. That's cool. That was never it for me, though. I mean it wasn't even an option: nothing to promote, no agenda. I'm sure I'll start up another blog at some point (and if I do, I'll include a link here). Meanwhile, I'm leaving the blog online for my archival amusement, maybe yours, too. It's been a pleasure. I'm going to keep listing offline. I might even dig up that old book proposal or, better yet, start a new one.

Artwork by Sister Louisa (aka Grant Henry) brightens up my den

Peg Board Theory

2010-11-23T08:54:00.004-05:00

When I lived in San Francisco I would drive over to Oakland on weekdays to write in a spare room I rented from my Graphic Designer friend, Shanti. Easily distracted on sunny afternoons, she and I spent many hours walking around Lake Merritt, a little oasis located a block away from her apartment on Grand Avenue. As we walked, we looked for our favorite goose, Mel, and discussed crappy boyfriends, good books, freelance work, and what we wanted to eat later at El Huarache Azteca. At some point she explained to me the Peg Board Theory. It goes something like this: We only have so many pegs in our life. Eventually our peg board gets full and we have to lose some pegs to make room for new ones. Right now my peg board is full and it's not necessarily with pegs I even wanted there in the first place. It's time to stand back and pull some pegs. It's time to start making way for new experiences and opportunities. As I write this I'm holding the peg called "blog." I think we know what's coming next.

* Peg board image found at RC Airplane World

Reclaim Bedroom Territory

2010-11-20T13:22:00.007-05:00

E-mail blast project for JJ

Clean house

Find box with holiday decorations

Thank-you notes

Drink Emergen-C

Open mail

3 p.m. pick up Rx

Send Amy Sedaris book to furlinedteacup

Walk Lola and Luke

7 p.m. DecaturDocs "Bouncing Cats"

Dinner with CB

Keep dogs out of bedroom

* Lola and Luke tucked in for the night

Friday Fanfoto

2010-11-19T10:34:00.011-05:00

Inspired by writers, foodies, musicians, friends, and others, we're giving the to-do list the day off on Fridays and posting pics of folks who keep us grounded, motivated, and, most of all, revved up:

Who doesn't love Gene Wilder? Ask fans their favorite Wilder movie moment and you'll get all sorts of responses. Mine is his and Peter Boyle's dance number to "Puttin' on the Ritz" in "Young Frankenstein." And, of course, there are all the great comedic moments with his frequent film partner Richard Pryor. My friend Ann counts "Haunted Honeymoon" as a must-see, a perfect blending of Wilder's genius with that of his late wife's, the sparkling Gilda Radner. Now in his seventies, the actor has released his third book, a collection of stories, What is This Thing Called Love? The actor-novelist was interviewed earlier this year on NPR. He'll be appearing this Sunday in Atlanta at the 19th Annual Book Festival of the MJCCA. It should be super duper.

Simply Interviewing

2010-11-15T12:02:00.007-05:00

Getting a byline for a Q&A seems silly when all you do is throw out questions and let two friends do all the talking. Still, I'll take it. The premier issue of Simply Buckhead magazine includes my interview with Atlanta novelists Emily Giffin and Susan Rebecca White. You'll find the new publication online and in shops and restaurants around the swankier parts of town. Starting on page 18, the writers talk about their connection to the community, each other, and dish about their writing lives. Emily shares her favorite coffee house for working away from home and Susan lets fly with shout-outs to her favorite food haunts.

* Image of "Women Talking" found at Kyle Moriwacki's photostream on Flickr

Cleaned Out

2010-11-11T15:16:00.015-05:00

It was great having company for the past week but now the house is quiet and my friend is back with her family in California. Meanwhile, my kitchen looks like Sevananda exploded nearby. Here are the food items left behind by my dear friend, my first "clean eating" houseguest:

African Red Bush herbal infusion

Container of steamed broccoli

Bowl of cooked brussels sprouts

Three-day-old big salad

Organic instant oatmeal

Tamari with seaweed rice cakes

Gluten-free crackers

Pure green decaf tea

All-natural hummus

Stir-fry rice noodles

1 mango

4 Lemons

A quartered grapefruit

Bunch of raisins

Half a bag of organic walnuts

Let's just say it's been interesting cooking for and dining out with someone who doesn't eat wheat, dairy, or processed sugar and who avoids spicy foods and doesn't drink alcohol or indulge in caffeine. Despite the detours to Whole Foods, we still managed to eat out. I'm happy to report she put away the following: pork-filled cabbage rolls at Pura Vida, Brunswick stew at Brick Store Pub, a heaping plate of veggies from the hot foods line at Your Dekalb Farmers Market, a Farm Burger on a gluten-free bun (not bad, by the way), peppermint tea at Java Monkey, and a gorgeous bowl of osso buco with preserved lemon, served over white beans and spinach at Leon's Full Service. Before she arrived, she told me was trying to put on weight. She came to the right person.

* Grapefruit watercolor by artandaudiogirl at Photobucket

Bone Appétit

2010-10-31T20:00:00.006-04:00

As Día de Los Muertos approaches, let's pray there are taquerías in the afterlife.

Image found at City Food Magazine.

Birthday to Restore Sanity

2010-10-30T09:47:00.005-04:00

Walking trail with Mom

Call back Dad

Open presents

Journal

Follow "The Daily Show" @Rally4Sanity

Target for Halloween candy

Stop avoiding mirrors

Burn b-day card and early invite to join AARP

Dinner with CB

Jon Hamm on SNL

Special Occasion artwork (my birthday present to myself) by Georgia photographer and playwright Rob Nixon.

The Exene of Cuisine

2010-10-27T10:45:00.012-04:00

Portrait of Christiane Lauterbach by artist Blair Hobbs

1-2-3-4! Congratulations to restaurant critic Christiane Lauterbach for winning the Southern Foodways Alliance Craig Claiborne Lifetime Achievement award this past weekend at the SFA Symposium in Oxford, MS. We were there whoo-hoo-ing in the first row and, as a former colleague, we couldn't have been more tickled to see her get the honor, presented by John T. Edge. Christiane is a food columnist for Atlanta magazine and the publisher of the very punk restaurant newsletter Knife & Fork.

* h/t to photographer and outgoing SFA prez Angie Mosier for recognizing Christiane's punk aesthetic

Explore The Global South

2010-10-20T08:21:00.007-04:00

Journal

Resched dr's appt.

Bank

Gas, car wash

Map of Ole Miss campus

Download Okracast podcasts

Print Southern Foodways Alliance Symposium schedule

Office supply run

Drop off gift cards

Luke to Lola's

Finish client newsletter

Make Sunday dinner plans

Pack: fat pants, jacket, iPhone charger, Flip video camera, notebook, maps to Oxford, SFA tix, pills, mineral water

Artwork by cartoonist Phil Blank of Carrboro, North Carolina

Happy Package

2010-10-15T08:30:00.004-04:00

This was the best thing to arrive in the mail all week: A doodle-covered envelope with the newest books by author and creative minister Patti Digh. Looking forward to seeing her at the Georgia Center for the Book reading on November 29.

Lost Journal

2010-10-14T09:16:00.014-04:00

One of the reasons I don't like keeping a journal is that I'm afraid someone will find it and read it. The journal is, in theory, for my eyes only. The journal is the dumping ground for everything: dreams, heartache, frustration, to-do lists, bad poetry, and, sometimes, embarrassing personal details. Of all the people I feared might read my journal one day, my mechanic was never one of them. Last week I was so rattled by a $3,000 car bill that I left my journal (and a really good sweatshirt) in the trunk of a loaner car at the Subaru dealer. I didn't realize this until the night before I was supposed to go out of town. I immediately called and asked for "Lil' Jill" in the service department. She searched the lot for the car, found the journal (and the really good sweatshirt), and promised to stash them in her office until I returned. With my weekend bag still unpacked from Tybee Island, I rushed over and picked them up yesterday morning first thing. I'll never know if she read it. She said she didn't but who knows. I looked for a knowing somethin-somethin in her eyes or a suppressed smirk...got nothing. Would I read someone else's journal if I had to hold on to it for several days? I would hope not. But it's hard to resist a spiral Mead Five Star notebook with bright blue flowers outside and longhand writing in mostly blue ink inside. So this morning I'm going to read my journal as if I were a stranger. I don't know why. I just have to do it. And then I'm going to put on my really good gray Lands' End sweatshirt and take a long walk on this gorgeous autumn day.

Sedaris Tonight

2010-10-07T09:25:00.007-04:00

Tonight I'm taking my mom to the "Evening With David Sedaris" show at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. I'm sure it'll be a wonderful time but it makes me think back on the very first Sedaris reading I stumbled upon in Atlanta. Like so many of his fans, I've been hooked on him since that Macy's Christmas elf story first aired on NPR in 1992. Soon after that I began buying his books, including Barrel Fever and Naked. Back then I was living in Los Angeles but came to Atlanta often to visit my mom who had been transferred here for her airline job. On one of my visits I was hell-bent on buying her one decent cookbook—she owned none. So off we went to the newly opened Borders bookstore in Buckhead. I remember sifting through the bargain books bin and hearing a very familiar voice from a man standing behind me. Before I even turned around I knew it was Sedaris. Sure enough there he stood looking worn and frazzled with that just-off-the-plane look, dressed in khakis and a wrinkled white Oxford shirt. He was there for a reading, which I had known nothing about before that moment. I grabbed mom by the arm and said, "We have to stay!" Up we went to the loft where he read to a captivated audience of about a dozen hipsters and assorted strays. That was the last time I would ever see Sedaris surrounded by such a small crowd. After he read, he graciously signed my mother's copy of the Betty Crocker Cookbook. He wrote: "Thank you for buying the book I ghostwrote." Unfortunately, mom lost that book in a housefire. Maybe only Sedaris would appreciate the irony of a never-used cookbook going up in flames. We're looking forward to reading his new collection of animal-themed tales, Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary.

Yo Ho, Yo Ho

2010-10-06T11:37:00.006-04:00

Walk Luke (journal at dog park)

Bank deposit

Dog food

Finish laundry

Turn in newsletter early

Research home energy efficiency experts

Follow up on freelance leads

Call mechanic

Add Nov and Dec pages to Filofax

Pack piratewear

Pirate lingo refresher

"The Pirate Girl" by Emily W. Martin at The Black Apple shop on Etsy

Bookmark Job Boards

2010-09-28T10:58:00.004-04:00

Walk dogs

CVS (pick up Rx)

Check client's to-do list

Day job search cont'd

Client meeting 2:30?

E-mail Julia re business cards

Need lead for newsletter (due Thurs)

3:00-5:00 Exterminator at house

Charge camera battery

6:30 Restaurant Eugene Author Dinner

Review notes from AWC writing workshop with Rick Bragg and Sonny Brewer

Friday Fanfoto

2010-09-24T11:05:00.010-04:00

Okay, so the photo's small and the top of his head is cropped off, but check out that windswept white beard! We love this photo of writer Nicholson Baker. Never has focusing on things so small, stirred us so much. By writing about minutia, Baker gets the big picture.

It's Fall

2010-09-23T09:03:00.005-04:00

Last night a friend and I toasted the end of a too-long too-hot summer with organic margaritas on a patio in East Atlanta. Dark gray-blue clouds hung overhead and thunder sounded in the distance. Heavy bees buzzed all around and dipped under the patio table umbrella and into our cocktails. After indulging in mucho guacamole, pork belly, and a few not-so-organic smokes, I came home and read the final chapter of The Anthologist by Nicholson Baker. I've been reading this book slowly over the summer, savoring every detail and putting it down when the messy bits of poet Paul Chowder's life felt all too familiar. After dragging this book around for months, its jacket is now warped and water-stained from dropping it in the wet sand of Tybee Island. My summer read concluded [spoiler alert] with the narrator finally overcoming writer's block and completing the introduction to a poetry anthology, mending his relationship with his girlfriend Roz, and getting his dog Smacko to stop biting the badminton birdie. He leaves the reader with these final words:

"The summer's over. It's fall. Shadows on the windshield. Rest."

Photo of leaf on windshield by Kenny Smith

Stop Seeing the Shot Glass as Half Empty

2010-09-22T08:31:00.008-04:00

Morning write

Loose Change deadline in 2 days

Walk Luke

Luke to vet's

Listen David Rakoff interview, "Fresh Air"

Hold off on new iPhone 4

Buy cheap printer

Write intro to interview Q&A

Liz's b-day card

Call Cindy

7:00 Cocktails with writer friend?

11:09 fall equinox

* Listless note: Half Empty is the title of David Rakoff's new collection of essays. The image of the Hall autumn leaf glass found at Replacements, Ltd.

Mark the End of a Cruel Summer

2010-09-17T11:53:00.007-04:00

E-mail publicist re author interview

Return signed contract addendum to ed.

Pick up The Gettysburg Review

Walk dogs

Write afternoon

Revisit Banarama (thanks, Jef)

Check nursery for fall plants

Repot tomatoes

Dinner with mom

Buy hair serum, new hair dryer

Mani/Pedi

Listless note: Last night marked the one-year anniversary of the True Story! reading series. Congrats to the organizers and one day I will find the cojones to tell my story on stage. Last night's readers were great but I gotta give it up to Jef Blocker for artfully blending Banarama fandom with a near-death experience. It was poignant and hilarious. A nice combo made a tad more shocking by a flash of Jef's vintage Banarama boxer shorts.

Deal With It on Thursday

2010-09-15T23:21:00.005-04:00

"Thursday is the day of fear. On Monday you're in great shape because you've got the whole week. Then Tuesday, still pretty good, still at the beginning more or less. Then Wednesday, and you're poised, and you can accomplish much if you just apply yourself vigorously and catch up. And then suddenly, you're driving under that huge tattered banner, with that T and that H and that U and that frightening R and the appalling S — THURSDAY — and you slide down then steep slope toward the clacking shredder blades that wait on Sunday afternoon." — narrator Paul Chowder in The Anthologist.

Let It Out

2010-09-13T14:16:00.003-04:00

If Don Draper can journal "like a little girl," we can too.

Image found at TV Fanatic

Put Away DBF Leftovers

2010-09-11T12:59:00.010-04:00

Today's clean house project started with emptying out my bag of swag and other goodies from last weekend's Decatur Book Festival. Found inside: copies of Don't Forget That Day by KIPP Strive Academy students, Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne, The Good Daughters by Joyce Maynard, an A Cappella Books tote bag and t-shirt, some sand (?), a gym guest pass, a pamphlet from Literacy Volunteers of Atlanta, a book of matches from Eddie's Attic, and a handful of boiled peanuts.

* To buy this boiled peanuts photo or see more images, visit Ashley Warnock

Learn to Play Accordion

2010-09-10T10:32:00.006-04:00

Laps dog park

Research three Buckhead authors for mag

Business card and web info to Paper Moon

Personal chefs research cont'd

Call mom

Check freelance writing job leads

OJ, cheddar, eggs, bread, wine

Write p.m.

Ironing

File bills

Organize photos

* Image found at heroinetv.com

Dead in the Weeds

2010-09-09T11:01:00.009-04:00

I didn't expect to like Jonathan Franzen, author of the new novel Freedom and keynote speaker at last weekend's Decatur Book Festival. Years ago I barely got through The Corrections and came away not liking a single character in it. Sorry, Oprah. So, for that and other reasons, including his latest celebrity from being named the "Great American Novelist" on the cover of Time, I expected a smug, prickly, smart-ass. Instead, I encountered a very honest writer, one who admits he goes through the same torturous writing process as everyone else. And a writer who rolls up his sleeves when a venue's air-conditioning isn't fully cranking on a warm summer night and gets down to the business of reading from his book. Later, during the Q&A portion of the evening, he was asked about the trappings of fame. He said that given the choice between a night of celebrity or a night having dinner and playing tennis with his wife-equivalent, he'd take the latter. The guy won me over without even trying. That's probably what I liked most about him — that and the young woman at the center of chapter two in Freedom. One of the last questions of the night came from an audience member who works as an editor. She told Franzen she has more difficulty in the role of writer and asked him how to know when it's time to stop writing. "The writing tells you often when it's gone dead," he said.

"Dead Typewriter" photo by Ken Foto at Flickr

Decatur Reads

2010-09-04T08:54:00.000-04:00

The AJC Decatur Book Festival is finally here! We asked some of our favorite Decaturites and assorted Decaturniks what they're reading. We started off a couple weeks ago at the bar at Watershed —a good place to start almost anything — and since then we've been topping off the list daily. Keep checking this here post as we update it through Labor Day weekend:

Julius Thompson, author of The Ghost of Atlanta:

"I'm reading two classics again: The Great Gatsby and Terry Kay's To Dance With the White Dog. Gatsby was first panned by critics. They just thought it was a book about a Long Island gambler. They didn't get the significance of the symbolism and the depth of the American Dream not realized. To Dance With the White Dog is the great Southern novel. Terry Kay's a great storyteller. And I want to read the book about the impact of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird after seeing the author featured on C-SPAN. My kids are reading The Scarlet Letter. It's so modern, people are still doing the same thing. It's still significant."

Kimberly Turner, cofounder of Regator:

"I'm reading issue 35 of McSweeney's (color-changing cover!) and, in particular, enjoying the collection of Norwegian stories. I've also just started Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series. I had put off reading it for years because I didn't want to start the series until he had completed it...I was finally pushed to take the nearly 400-page plunge when I read that Ron Howard is working on film adaptations. I don't like seeing a film before I read the book, so I figured I'd better get crackin'. In non-book reading, I loved the Vanity Fair Gaga cover story, and Luke Dittrich's Esquire piece about the insane dude who's going to skydive from space completely blew my mind. And I am, partly because of Regator and partly because I just love blogs, constantly reading more blogs than you'd even believe. Right now, some of my faves are: Good.is, Hyperbole and a Half, Gadling, Sociological Images, Cracked, Fully (sic), and Wired Science."

Booksellers at Blue Elephant Book Shop:

Linda:
"I just read my ARC [advanced review copy] of Dennis Lehane's Moonlight Mile. It's very good, fast-paced, entertaining. I'm also reading the ARC of Michael Connelly's The Reversal — his series with L.A. Detective Harry Bosch is a favorite of mine. And I'm reading The Nine Dragons, another Bosch book, which is now out in paperback."

Laura, owner:

"I just started The Tower, The Zoo, and the Tortoise by Julia Stuart. It's a novel about the Beefeaters and their families who live the Tower of London. There are about 30 of them. One of the characters is the Ravenmaster. The myth is that if the ravens leave the tower, London will fall. I'm also reading Zoo Story. It's about the zoo in Tampa —I didn't even know Tampa had a zoo. It got me because it starts off with elephants. I have a soft spot for elephants. I love them. And I just finished my ARC of Ape House by Sara Gruen. She also wrote Water for Elephants. There's no elephant in this book but it's still very good without one. The novel is about using American Sign Language with animals. The author does a lot of research for her books. The bonobos (apes) are quite amazing with their understanding of language." Laura says the bookstore is participating in the Decatur Book Festival and will specialize in "local stuff: local guides, authors, history." The store's new location is an adorable cottage near Dancing Goats Coffee Bar on Ponce.

Betsy Rhame-Minor, member of a Decatur book club:

"I'm reading The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest and turning the pages just as fast as I can, both because it's good and because it's overdue at the library. I'm also listening to The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes on my iPod."

Katie Olliff, program associate for Calling Congregations, The Fund for Theological Education:

"I'm reading One Hundred Years of Solitude, which also happens to be 100 years of naming everyone in the family the same thing. Also exploring Walter Reeves's Month by Month Gardening in Georgia to make big plans for fall gardening. Plus I arrived home to way too many magazines today: Organic Gardening, Country Living, Southern Living, Rolling Stone, and Runner's World. And I have some preview copies of other books for work..."

Team at Farm Burger:

George, owner/manager:

"I'm reading The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende. It's amazing. I could never write like that. There are generations and generations of family, much oddness, weirdness."

Terry, chef:

"I'm reading Ad Hoc at Home by Thomas Keller. Really interesting! I'm reading it because it's about cooking using all of the animal parts. I just finished cleaning and cooking two pig heads. I'm making head cheese for special snack on the menu. I'm also reading Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn. It inspired the pork rillettes I made for my five-course First Supper dinner." The chef's seasonal dinners are announced on Farm Burger's Facebook page and on Twitter.

Lauren:

"Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. It's phenomenal. I highly recommend it. I'm also reading Sunnyside, a fascinating fictional book about Charlie Chaplin."

Lisa:

"Skinny Legs and All by Tom Robbins. I have to go back and read every page twice. There's so much detail...what is he trying to say? It's very deep."

Jacob:

"I'm re-reading The Satanic Bible. It came out in 1969. It has nothing to do with Satan. It's about how people should do what they want as long as it doesn't hurt anybody."

Simone:

"I'm reading The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. It keeps you intrigued the whole time. One of my favorite authors is Eve Ensler. I just finished The Vagina Monologues. Now I'm on A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant, and a Prayer. And I read Nylon all the time."

Damon Sgrignoli, writer and raconteur:

"This week's books are: Ellis's Imperial Bedrooms — which either makes me want to move back to L.A. or never visit again (I'm not sure at this point); on the non-fiction end, I'm halfway through Eggers's Zeitoun. It's New Orleans, misguided government, immigration, family, and a sliver of hope — I'm pissed off that this could happen in this country, yet ready to go dancing at The Spotted Cat."

Crew at The Cook's Warehouse:

Angie, sales supervisor:

"I'm reading Kitchen Confidential. I love the author's show and his sense of humor. He makes reference to things I'm familiar with — we're in the same age group. It's very enlightening. Anyone thinking about getting into the food industry should read it to learn the ins and outs. And I just read A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers. Intense."

Kathy, cooking school lead:

"I read the AJC every day. I like the food section on Thursday and the entertainment section on Friday."

Perry, returns manager:

"I'm reading The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks. I love the book. It's great sci-fi, part of a Matrix-esque series. It's about the conflict between good and evil, man versus technology. A very good read."

Eliot of Decatur CD:

"I'm reading A Tibetan Revolutionary: The Political Life and Times of Bapa Phüntso Wangye. It's about a revolutionary, philosopher, and founder of a secret Tibetan Communist Party. It's a different look at the Tibetan issue."

Kim Severson, author of Spoon Fed: How Eight Chefs Saved My Life, staff writer for The New York Times, Decatur lover:

"So I am reading about 16 different things at once. I have been going deep into Roger Ebert's journal and past reviews because I'm doing a story on him. I'm reading The Imperfectionists for fun and I am trying to finish the last two copies of The New Yorker, which has been running some great fiction by writers under 40." Kim is just back from the Rutabaga Festival in Northern Wisconsin. "Bad year for rutabagas, turns out. Too much rain. They're small and have rotten cores."

Lynne Sawicki of Sawicki's Meat Seafood More:

"Right now it's classic French: Jacques Pépin's Complete Techniques and Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. 2. And, for a twist, David Bouley's East of Paris."

Catherine Lee:

"I'm currently reading Alexander McCall Smith's The Unbearable Lightness of Scones. It's part of his 44 Scotland Street series that takes place in Edinburgh — my favorite place on Earth. This novel is a bit slower than the previous ones, but I still love it for its Scottishness. As for magazines, I'm trying to get through all the September issues of the fashion heavy hitters: Vogue, Elle, Bazaar, Marie Claire, and W. Also waiting impatiently for the next issues of Dwell and Afar."

Bob Means, owner, Little Tree Art Studios:

Bob is reading JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters by James W. Douglass.

Blake Guthrie, Decatur-based singer/songwriter:
"I'm currently reading Behind the Grand Ole Opry Curtain: Tales of Romance and Tragedy by esteemed Nashville music journalist Robert K. Oermann. It's filled with juicy backstage tidbits on the personal lives of Country's biggest stars throughout the history of the Opry. You don't have to be a country music fan to like it, as it's filled with all kinds of celebrity gossip, crime scenes, tragic heroes and the like. Each chapter is a separate story, so I'm not reading it front to back. I just randomly select a new chapter each night before bed. It's one of the funnest reads I've had in a while."

Maxine, School Crossing Guard:

"I'm reading the Bible. It's the best book I've ever read. It took me 15 years to read it all and I still go back and refer to it...I used to go to church every Sunday and I wasn't learning a thing, so that's when I started reading it." She says it's "good for reproof and correction."

Don:

"I'm reading God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything by Christopher Hitchens. He's great. He contributes to Vanity Fair and is such an amazingly interesting man. I'm also reading Bottled Poetry: Napa Winemaking from Prohibition to the Modern Era. And I'm always reading GQ, Men's Health, and Kiplinger's magazines."

Jim Adams, Owner, Books Again:

"I'm reading a book about Roosevelt called The Imperial Cruise by James Bradley. We learn how he was quite the racist. It's about his very Arian attitudes...how he believed in the superiority of whites to Asians and other minorities, something that was not too uncommon in the early 1900s."

Octavio the Kitty, Books Again:

A store spokesperson tells us Octavio's reading list includes three books: David Goodis's The Blonde on The Street Corner; Patricia Highsmith's Ripley Under Water; and Pragmatism: A Reader edited by Louis Menand. Octavio finds the last title full of "interesting views on literature and life" and especially likes Cornel West's essay in the book.

Chris, Firefighter/EMT, Decatur Fire Department, Station No. 2:

"I'm reading the monthly catalog from Cigar.com." His favorite cigar right now is the Rocky Patel Connecticut, which he says is "smooth and mild." Chris is also a regular reader of Mother Earth News magazine — a reasonable read for someone who has rabbits, grows vegetables, and builds solar panels in his spare time.

Shane, Firefighter, Decatur Fire Department, Station No. 1:

Read Angels & Demons by Dan Brown and "liked it."

Kash Ahmed, general manager at Big Peach Running Co., PhD student in American Literature at Georgia State:

"I'm doing a paper on Percival Everett and reading his Erasure. People assumed it was a commentary on the author himself. He doesn't believe in the notion of African-American Literature. It's cool. It's still important to discuss these days, especially with our president and issues of race and the need to look at the individual himself. I'm also reading the biography of Eudora Welty by Suzanne Marrs."

Craig of Big Peach Running Co.:

"I'm reading a book I've picked up and put down so many times: Catch-22. I heard that phrase recently, that's what got me into it again. It's definitely entertaining, a must-read."

Tom Bell, partner at Chronicle, program director for Decatur Book Festival:

"I'm finishing up Freedom by Jonathan Franzen in preparation for his keynote speech."

Terra Elan McVoy, author of After the Kiss and Pure, assistant program director for Decatur Book Festival:

"I'm reading The Passage by Justin Cronin. It's a book about a girl who saves the world."

Pastor Julie, First Baptist Church Decatur:

"I always have a stack of about 10 at my bedside and I flit from book to book. I just finished listening to The Help which was superb and may very well be THE best audio recording of a book that I've ever heard. I also re-read Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer because it was just so darned hot this summer in Atlanta. And Nicholas Wolterstorff's little book, Lament for a Son. And The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion. I'm a big fan of Rick Bragg and loved All Over But the Shoutin'. And Barbara Brown Taylor's An Altar in the World."

Jamie Allen:

"Just tested the waters of Life: A User's Manual by Georges Perec, and I think I might dive in. But I also have What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami as a back-up. And after having a friend tell me in very clear terms how 'easy' Mary Shelley was, particularly on one famous literary weekend, I'm hoping to haunt myself with one of her biographies this October."

MC Mr. E:

"I am reading a very big book about my favorite 20th-century architect, Eero Saarinen. It's called Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future. Reading this book has given me new insight into the impact his work made on the corporate identities of some of the biggest names in industry. His buildings totally conveyed the image of progress and the modern innovations American industry was turning out in the second half of the 20th century. Saarinen designed the corporate headquarters for John Deere, did the IBM Pavilion at the 1964 World's Fair, the GM Technical Center, The Gateway to the West Memorial Arch in St. Louis, Dulles Airport, and the TWA Terminal at JFK...Sigh, what a sweet sweet building that is." MC Mr. E says he is also "staring/drooling/being amazed at" the wealth of graphics and pictures found in the book Tokyo Mon Amour: Pizzicato Five Retrospective (a small format book, with text in Japanese, of all the promotional materials for his favorite Shibuya era band, Pizzicato Five). Plus, he's reading these magazines "all the time": Modernism, Atomic Ranch, Metropolis, Dwell and Wired. ( MC Mr. E was recently seen purchasing a Russel Wright clock at Kudzu Antiques.)

Regulars at Adair Dog Park:

Annie's mom: "I'm reading a book I started two years ago. I picked it up again when I had insomnia one night. It's The Man Who Flew the Memphis Belle: Memoir of a WWII Bomber Pilot, by Col. Robert Morgan." Annie's mom grew up in Memphis. She says, "The book is compelling, not what I would've thought. When you're reading it, you think about what's happening on the ground as well as what's happening in the air. It makes the notion of war all the more horrific."

Sully's mom: "I'm reading Sharp Teeth by Toby Barlow. It's set in L.A. and it's about homeless people/surfers/beach bums that turn into werewolves. They can 'turn' whenever they want, not just at night. And there's a dog catcher that falls in love."

Petey's mom: "I'm really into books about New York City right now. I just read Away by Amy Bloom. I've read a lot of her books. This wasn't my favorite. It's about this Jewish Russian woman who loses her daughter and goes off to find her. She ends up in Manhattan before she tries to make it home. She also ends up on a steamship in Alaska. (Sully's mom: 'Whuh?') I'm also reading Up in the Old Hotel, an anthology by a former reporter for the The New Yorker. It's about all the eccentric groups, all the smaller groups, that fit into the bigger city, into Manhattan's ecosystem. He goes for the grit and people who live on the fringes. I really like it."

Blondie's owner: "I'm reading Naked by David Sedaris. It's one of his that I like. Some of the others are too dark and sarcastic but this one is about his life. It's more open, he's laid bare. He's his funny funny self. I recently read Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. And The God of Small Things was my favorite book of the summer. The characters are so real, it's a little mystical. Some of the sentences were so beautifully written I'd read them five times in a row."

Susan Puckett, freelance food writer and cookbook author:
"The last book I finished was The Help, which was great. I have started John Bayley's Elegy for Iris, as I am looking to get inspired by great memoirs." Puckett is busy finishing her upcoming book on food and drink in the Mississippi Delta. She says her To-Read pile includes Craig Claiborne's A Feast Made for Laughter and Being Dead is No Excuse: The Official Southern Ladies Guide to Hosting the Perfect Funeral by Gayden Metcalfe and Charlotte Hays.

Parker Cross:
"Put me, and everyone else, down for Freedom by Jonathan Franzen. President Obama gave me his ARC when he finished."

Cynthia Wong, pastry chef, Cakes & Ale:
"I just finished reading Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami and haven't started anything new yet. I'm a HUGE Murakami fan and am currently trying to read his entire body of work."

Kristin Allin, owner, Cakes & Ale:
"I'm reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins."

Billy Allin, chef/owner, Cakes & Ale:
"I just finished Alice Waters's biography—I once worked at Chez Panisse. It's a much longer title if you want to look it up. And I just started reading A Tale of Two Valleys by my friend Alan Deutschman." (We did look it up, chef. That title is Alice Waters and Chez Panisse: The Romantic, Impractical, Often Eccentric, Ultimately Brilliant Making of a Food Revolution by Thomas McNamee.)

Lain Shakespeare:

"I'm reading Chimamanda Adichie's Half of a Yellow Sun. Her second novel is a glimpse into the lives of three Nigerians leading up to and during the Nigerian-Biafran War. It's good so far, but mostly I'm just terrified of introducing her at the Decatur Book Festival." He adds, "I'm also reading all of the Harry Potter books, since I hadn't yet and I'm tired of everyone gasping at me. Currently on The Prisoner of Azkaban. Thank goodness it's, so far, much better than The Chamber of Secrets."

Patti Digh, author of Four-Word Self-Help: Simple Wisdom for Complex Lives and Life is a Verb, honorary Decaturite:

"Right now I'm reading Zeitoun by Dave Eggers (brilliant writer, I highly recommend his What is the What), and Anthony Bourdain's Medium Raw because, well, *swoon*."

Diane Capriola of Little Shop of Stories:

"I am re-reading (for the fourth time?) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - simply because Harry's maturation and Snape's redemption both make my heart happy and hopeful."

Neil Dobbs, insurance agent:
"I just finished The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. The trilogy has been read." Dobbs is also re-reading Bruce Feiler's Walking the Bible, "which actually had me open up the Bible which is still a good story." He says he's also grabbing a Sherman Alexie book this week.

Daren Wang, curator of verb.org, co-founder Decatur Book Festival:
Elizabeth Cady Stanton: An American Life by Lori D. Ginzberg. Wang says, "I'm on a Western NY history kick right now for an upcoming project, and this showed up in my mailbox at just the right time."

Doug Hawkins, server, Watershed:

Parrot and Olivier in America by Peter Carey. Hawkins says, "It's clever historical fiction...fun."

Joe Truex, chef/partner, Watershed:
The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather; anything by Alice Munro, like her latest short story collection Too Much Happiness. Truex calls Munro's writing "the antithesis of David Foster Wallace's" (we nodded but probably should've asked for more on this); and, as a daily reader of the AJC, John Kessler's Food and More blog.

Give It a Rest

2010-08-20T21:56:00.005-04:00

CB and I are heading out to Tybee Island in the morning, so no more to-do's until next week. Hoping to swim with the dolphins, get some writing done, and saunter over Savannah way. And, of course, can't wait to grab a booth at The Breakfast Club on Sunday morning. Meanwhile, we've got a new literary gadget over there in the right-hand column. It's called Decatur Reads and is our humble nod to the mighty Decatur Book Festival. Check it out in the coming days. Lots of good stuff will be posted from your favorite foodies, booksellers, writers, techies, bon vivants, and assorted guys and gals on the street.

* Photo by follygirl at tripadvisor.com

The State I Am In

2010-08-13T11:41:00.006-04:00

2:00 meeting re web content writing

Call re SCAD job

E-mail housepainter

Target: make-up remover, straws, surge protector

Inman Park Pet Works: dog food, chewy things

Apple: replace AirPort base station, iPhone dock connector

Gift sub to Knife & Fork for Amy

Mail Jenny's b-day card and gift

Pay Visa, docs

IKEA

Pick up Roseanne Cash's "The List" at Decatur CD

Return calls, e-mails cont'd

Sample chapters before Labor Day

Read The Anthologist by Nicholson Baker

* Image from amhpics at Flickr.com. Today's post inspired by Belle & Sebastian.

Remembering Miss Kitty

2010-08-03T18:31:00.004-04:00

Exactly one year ago, I came inside from a hot and humid night of gardening to find that my best pal, Miss Kitty, had passed away. The rest of that August is a blur. As much as I love my new dog, Luke, he does not possess Miss K's subtle charms. I miss the sound of her bell, her scolding meows when I came home late, and her sitting beside me as I read or typed on my laptop. Here is a photo of her on one of her best days. She's back in the garden of our San Francisco apartment on 17th Avenue. That was our sanctuary. As for the slender pathway that surrounded the jade plants, cacti, lavender, and bougainvillea, that was hers. She owned it.

Finish Agritourism Assignment

2010-07-26T00:19:00.007-04:00

"Deadlines just aren't real to me until I'm staring one in the face." - Rick Riordan

Cow clock photo by CrispyBaconBits at Flickr.com

Stay Off Wastebook

2010-07-21T14:16:00.009-04:00

Travel assignment due Monday !!!

Stay off Wastebook !!!

Pick up Rx, mud mask, bird seed

Start newsletter (due Fri)

Check out Home Grown GA menus

New business cards to studio

More music by The Nerves

Stop being so cranky

Dream journal on nightstand

Set alarm for meds 1:00 a.m.

* Pile of Facebook gifts by Arend deGruyter-Helfer. Found at Rhizome.

Follow Up on Job Leads

2010-07-19T10:40:00.004-04:00

Travel assignment continued

Mail AmEx, insurance payments

Update Remember the Milk tasks

Freelance admin/research work

3 p.m. Meeting in Decatur

Ask Robert re studio door sign

Dinner at the Joyce

Limit the critical voices

Ignore Laundry

2010-07-15T10:07:00.006-04:00

"SURE, I know the laundry just got fascinating, but sit the hell down and write."

From "how to write (a book). a wee rant." by author Patti Digh

"Laundry Day" painting by Aleta Gudelski

Found at Scott's

2010-07-12T11:07:00.003-04:00

Favorite finds from this weekend's trip to Scott Antique Market: a "book for boys" from Dick Hamilton's Young Reporter Series (1907), copper flan mold from Turkey, and a vintage "knee-high" sign for Nehi soda.

Enter No Hand-Holding Zone

2010-07-09T14:00:00.008-04:00

PA work (transfer dates to calendar)

Travel article research cont'd

Write sample chapters by July 27

Pick cherry tomatoes

Balance checkbook

Take Flip out of box

Pack recipes for coleslaw, bourbon-lemonade iced tea

6 p.m. Meet up with CB

Stop being a hand-holder

Image found at Norgren.org

Share To-Do Lists

2010-07-08T10:20:00.004-04:00

Finalize and post new schedule

Give iCal another try

Bring to-do list to The List Wall project

Organize research e-mails

Newsletter due tomorrow

Confirm Sat's Low Country Boil

Buy eggs, yogurt, lemons

Call Mom

Luke's flea med

* Image from Pryor Fine Art website

Work on Southern Hospitality

2010-07-06T16:56:00.008-04:00

This past 4th of July weekend confirmed that when I am a bad hostess, I am very bad. At least my attitude can get pretty stinky. This is especially true if I'm already tired or stressed and when people are in my home for more than 24 hours. It's a slow build but I start to resent all of the hours spent beforehand: recipe searching, food shopping, house cleaning, not to mention all the expense involved. How does a simple get-together end up costing a few hundred dollars, even when your menu includes such low-budget items as Ruffles and Kroger French Onion Dip? I get burned out on cooking after about the third or fourth recipe, more so when I prepare everything back-to-back the same day. I know better than that. It's around this time when I want to start smoking again, when I stop caring if my table linens are holiday-themed, when I want to curl up into a ball and nap until everyone has left the house. And while I appreciate the compliment, the only reason I'm a good bartender is because after six-plus hours in the kitchen, I need to turn on with some peach sangria and tune out conversation about office politics. But then we sit down to eat and my mood lifts, a little. Later we all walk to the lake for fireworks, drink moonshine from a stash in our neighbor's garage (he makes you sing a church hymn before each shot), and the night is drowned in feel-goodness. It's even better when there's leftover potato salad, grilled brats and burgers, and watermelon wedges in the fridge. And one tipsy guest crashed out on the living room couch.

Image of Watermelon Mouth found at BuzzFeed

Walk Off Funnel Cake

2010-07-02T11:42:00.011-04:00

Lemon water

Free write 'til 1:00

GA travel article research cont'd

4th of July menu

Pick up Mom, lunch

Luke and Lola to Adair Dog Park

Wood chips, charcoal, corn on the cob

Find Dave Alvin "Romeo's Escape" CD

Ride more Ferris wheels

Find Amusement

2010-07-01T12:59:00.007-04:00

Timed writing practice

Respond to editing favor

Walk/run

Read AJC article on East Point - the next Decatur?

Prelim travel story research, e-mails

Pine Street Market for brats and H&F buns

Dinner date with CB

Check out Ferris wheel in East Point

Read more from Spoon Fed

After today, no more editing favors

* Ferris wheel image found at StumbleUpon.com

That Kind of Monday

2010-06-28T20:26:00.002-04:00

* Drawing lifted from unknown source on the Web long ago. If you're the artist, apologies for lack of credit here. I like the hat.

Wigging Out

2010-06-25T11:19:00.003-04:00

Write 1 hour

Walk Luke

Add Peter Case's Wig! to iPod Shuffle

Buy Rioja and sangria makings

Phone research, pre-interview re GA agritourism

Call CB

Mail Lori's b-day card

Drop off studio rent

Pack up drinks, guitar, art supplies, glitter stars

TB's birthday party

Wig! "It's not just a way of life, it's an explosive reaction against the tension of living in an insane century." - Peter Case

And So Does Too Much Tweeting

2010-06-16T15:04:00.008-04:00

Dang it's hot out there (but I refuse to say Hotlanta out loud...nope, not doing it). Wishing we had an Arnold Palmer sitting on our desk right about now. Today, finally finishing up the last few chapters of The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy by Robert Leleux, a sassy and charming writer and our favorite presenter at this year's Savannah Book Festival. Also spending some writing time in the studio today (slapping myself hard every time I even think about Facebook or Twitter). Speaking of...read the latest on The New York Times "tweet" debate here by the man who supposedly banned its usage.

* My sentiments exactly. Quotable T-shirt available at author's website.

Don't Forget Pops

2010-06-15T15:59:00.010-04:00

Start health newsletters due Thurs/Fri

Write in-studio after dinner

Buy The Lacuna for Dad

Doggie supplies at Inman Park Pet Works

Replace iPhone dock connector to USB cable

Call back Rudy

Tovolo ice pop molds and Prosecco at The Cook's Warehouse

Shoot fireflies-in-the-trees video for Suzanne

Note to self: work on screenplay at Starbucks in Target (see Diablo Cody factoid)

* "Popsicle Trees" painting by Della Heywood

Third Annual Art-B-Que

2010-06-11T11:41:00.009-04:00

Art, music, burlesque, and tasty barbecue and bevs happening this weekend at Art-B-Que 2010. The main event is located off of College Avenue (Rail Arts District, Franklin Street) in Avondale Estates. Festivities start tonight at 7 p.m. with art and music at The Alcove Gallery, plus more haps can be found around the corner from the Waffle House at the Little Tree Studios/Bart Webb building. I'll be in and out all weekend. Come by and say "hey" at studio 106. If the door's open, you'll likely find some snacks and me in my new Hillbilly tank top from the SCOTS concert. For the full Art-B-Que schedule, click here.

* Art-B-Que logo designed by Chris Warner of The Alcove Gallery

Squirrel Proof Bird Feeder

2010-06-08T17:05:00.007-04:00

Write in studio (start with Life is a Verb)

Return DG phone call

See updated Decatur Book Festival website

Buy bird seed

Start reading Imperfect Birds by Anne Lamott

See "How to Squirrel-Proof a Bird Feeder"

Walk/run

Fridge leftovers continued (tuna salad, pasta)

Watch Anderson Cooper 360 (Day 50 BP oil spill)

Cartoon by RR Anderson found at Holistic Forge Works

Busy Bee

2010-05-28T13:57:00.006-04:00

These little blue cupcakes from Highland Bakery were the perfect dessert for this week's Vox Rox The Dictionary: A Spelling Bee for Grown-Ups. Thanks, Rebecca, for the invite. Read more about the evening from one of the event's judges, author Jessica Handler.

Take Five

2010-05-13T08:43:00.007-04:00

Hi. Not sure if I'll be back in 5 minutes, 5 hours, 5 days, or longer, but I will be back. I'm realigning the freelance and creative field forces and need to power down the blog energy for a bit. Take care, eat well, and write me. Meanwhile, enjoy this "Take Five" musical interlude.

* Photo found at Amy's New York Noteboook

Get Spoon Fed

2010-05-05T09:06:00.005-04:00

Later this evening we're going to Kim Severson's reading at the public library in Decatur. We may try to say hello afterward and casually ask what she's doing Labor Day weekend...aka Decatur Book Festival weekend...hint, hint, Kim. Tonight's reading is hosted by the Georgia Center for the Book, with books for sale from Outwrite Bookstore. Years ago I met Kim for a hot second in the test kitchen of the San Francisco Chronicle. At the time I had a couple of writer friends on the newspaper's food staff (while I briefly had a far less glamorous job in the research department of the SFGate website: graveyard shift, no less). Lucky for me, these friends were frequently in need of dining companions. They taught me a lot about restaurant reviewing, the art of being inconspicuous, and the best way to get your foot in the kitchen door. Thank you, Robin and GraceAnn.

After the reading, hoping to grab a seat at Farm Burger.

Steam Master

2010-05-01T10:13:00.009-04:00

Online banking

Invoice April freelance jobs

Iron or put away mountain of laundry

Read from This Pagan Heaven by Robin Kemp

More "fast and dirty" journaling

Revise newsletter deadlines on Google Calendar

Web content projects for TB (hustle, hustle!)

List of questions to RH's client

Call back Dad

Pay utilities

See last of April poetry videos at Bound to be Read Books

Chill with CB and Lola p.m.

List-less note: The good news is freelance work is picking up. The bad news is housework is sliding down the priorities list.

* Image found at AllPosters.com

Peachy or Not, Keep Journaling

2010-04-25T14:21:00.005-04:00

Sometimes you meet wonderful creative people (like author and teacher Jessica Handler) and it turns out they're married to equally wonderful creative people (like writer and artist Mickey Dubrow). And, special bonus, sometimes they share concert stories from their days living in L.A. and they like talking about the band X as much as you do! Mickey writes the Rotten Peaches blog where he shares "charming anecdotes and assorted amusements" as well as his sketches. I was inspired by this snippet from one of his recent posts:

I am also reminded of a comment from a fellow artist when I showed him one of my sketchbooks. "I notice that none of the lines are scratched through," he said. "You don't worry about mistakes." I was surprised. Sketches aren't supposed to be perfect. They're supposed to be fast and dirty. There are no mistakes in rough sketches. It's all good."

I like that philosophy for writing journal entries as well -- something I've been struggling to maintain lately. So, this week, we will try to remember that they don't have to be perfect just "fast and dirty." Even if it's all rotten, "it's all good."

But back to Mickey for a sec: if you'd like to hear him tell a story, he will be featured tomorrow (that's Monday night) at the True Story! reading series at Kavarna cafe in Oakhurst.

* Peach journal image found at Cafe Press.

National Poetry Month

2010-04-24T09:35:00.009-04:00

In case you're counting down, these are the final days of National Poetry Month. The independent Bound to be Read Books in East Atlanta Village has been videotaping poetry readings by local authors, poets, journalists, and other literary sorts every day this month. To see the contributors, click here and go to the store blog (I'm waiting for the reading featuring store cat, Kona). If you like Billy Collins and want to see me fumble my way through his poem "The Waitress,"see the video for Day 18. And if you want to read my all-time favorite Billy Collins poem, "Osso Buco," the blog Epicurienne has a nice post. Finally, to get your poetry groove on further, go to Poets.org.

The 2010 National Poetry Month poster was designed by Marian Bantjes.

Don't Flip Out

2010-04-22T17:36:00.017-04:00

Give Luke a massage

Don't wear flip-flops dog walking

Buy Bactine

Pick up Casteller Cava Brut at Toco Hills Giant Wines

Read issue five of Canteen lit journal

Stick to new weekly schedule

Journal! Journal! Journal!

See Dan's link to local Toastmasters

Transfer Jill Sobule's "California Years" to iTunes

Buy Morton Lite Salt

Check blood pressure daily

Price Flip video camcorders

* Artwork by Jen Ashmen

Celebrate the Imperfect

2010-04-09T15:02:00.003-04:00

Laying low on this gorgeous spring-a-ling day. At home recovering from overindulging at friend Donna's birthday dinner last night at Alfredo's. But mostly, just killing time until we get to hear our favorite writer, Anne Lamott, read from her new book tonight at the First Baptist Church in Decatur. Thank you, Georgia Center for the Book, for hosting.

This is a Big F***ing Deal

2010-03-23T22:02:00.005-04:00

Today we're sending out warm congratulations to Tom Bell and Jamie Allen on the launch of Chronicle, their new boutique writing and editing company. These are two of our favorite "creatives" in all of Atlanta. We wish them a swell start!

* Logo image taken from Chronicle's Web site, designed by Lenz Marketing

Find Clarity and Cupcakes

2010-03-20T09:02:00.014-04:00

Listen to "Martinis Con Queso!"

Prep for tax appointment

Walk Luke

Mail Terri's and Phil's b-day cards

Recycle cabbage stew from Fox Bros.

Read The Alchemist

Organize L.A. photos

Journal afternoon (think on clarity, advice from cupcake baker)

Check Cupcakes Take the Cake blog

See CB and Lola, evening

Reminder: MothUp storytelling on Monday

Send Jef note re AlphaSmart date

* Cherries Jubilee Cupcapron made by Glue & Glitter (photo found at Etsy.com). Glue & Glitter's aprons also sold at Atlanta Cupcake Factory.

Fly Home

2010-03-10T09:15:00.003-05:00

"One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things." - Henry Miller

* Photo by Patrick Ng found at moleskinvox.com

Pack for L.A. Trip

2010-03-09T08:58:00.006-05:00

I think everyone's got one. That diner in your hometown that hasn't changed since you were a kid. The one place where you know if you walked through its doors right now you'd run into someone you knew from grammar school or high school - it could be the kid who always squirted milk out of her nose when she laughed at lunch but is now a neurosurgeon at UCLA, or the kid who studied philosophy and religion but decided to be the town's best auto mechanic instead of a priest. You know how there's that one dish you always have to order? For me, it's the oven-baked apple pancake at Dinah's Family Restaurant in Westchester (a quirkly little suburb -- at its prime in the 1960s -- near the Los Angeles airport, Loyola Marymount University, and the beach). If you've ever driven north on the 405 from LAX, you've probably seen the diner's giant chicken bucket from the freeway. I'll be heading home this week for a long overdue visit with Dad.

Images found at flickr and at dinahsrestaurant.com

Avoid Kerfuffles With Foodies

2010-03-07T10:56:00.007-05:00

Last edits to dance program

Take Luke and Lola to dog park

Watch salt, caffeine

Baby gifts (newborn and 3T)

Help CB haul lumber

Update assignments on Remember the Milk

Journal and writing practices, 1 hour

Read "Kerfuffle Over Saveur Magazine's Los Angeles Issue"

Watch Academy Awards?

Search for the Sublime

2010-02-24T10:28:00.008-05:00

Pay gas bill (keep back door closed!)

Renew gift sub to Quick Fiction

Walk Lola and Luke

Audio book cont'd: The Writing Life

Sublime Doughnuts on way to IKEA

Freelance: Excel doc set-up, newsletter due Fri

Write afternoon (menupoem for Alimentum, due Mar 1)

Careful 1-word texts (e.g. "yep"), subject to diff interps

New writing-pub volunteer opp with KIPP STRIVE and Wren's Nest

Get March date next MothUp Atlanta storytelling series

* Photo from The Food Abides blog

Stop Buying Books With Fear in the Title

2010-02-18T08:52:00.010-05:00

Save Eric Puchner's Rumpus article on writing titles

How much handholding too much?

Go back to using AlphaSmart

Send January invoice

Mail bills

Renew AFJ membership

Flatbread from Alosta Bakery

IKEA (replacement door, TB office misc.)

Compile health newsletter (due tomorrow, 10 a.m.)

Read "Finding Dolly Freed" and "The Meltdown" by Paige Williams

Walk with Luke

Buy birdfeeder

Have a Heart

2010-02-11T09:44:00.009-05:00

Edit health newsletter

Call Mom, Dad

Sympathy card to DM

See IACP Portland conference info (April)

Download Savannah/Tybee photos

Try the redneck lasagna (Brunswick stew over mac n cheese) at Community Q BBQ

Valentine's cards/sweets

1/2 hour min. journal or writing practices

Replace CB's Sriracha Sauce

Walk Luke

Read ch. 1 and 2, The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy by Robert Leleux

Elyse Defoor's Via Dorso exhibit, opening reception 6-9, Wm Turner Gallery

* Candy Hearts oil painting by Kathy Lumsden

Go Somewhere

2010-02-03T15:58:00.009-05:00

Journal or writing practices at studio 'til 5:00

See ArtBiz's "15 minutes a day" discussion continued

Pack gift card for 17Hu ndred90 Restaurant

Print Savannah Book Festival schedule

Dinner at Fox Brothers Bar-B-Q (get the wings)

8:00 Star Bar for Dexene show (Exene Cervenka and Dexter Romweber Duo)

Exene Cervenka's "Somewhere Gone" available at Bloodshot Records. And a nice little article in this week's Creative Loafing.

Bookmark Coffee-Stained Memos

2010-01-28T17:47:00.011-05:00

Today I came across a tweet by OfficeSupplyGeek and discovered my new favorite blog: Coffee-Stained Memos "a review of essential tools for writers: pens, journals, notebooks, coffee, and even the occasional typewriter." It's written by John Johnston of Prattville, Alabama. Today's entry features Doane Paper's Idea Journals -- tempting for grid paper fanatics like me.

* Image found at Miscellany & Cacophony, a blog by pen and paper lover and writerly product reviewer Brad

Old Friends, New List

2010-01-25T08:29:00.007-05:00

Express Mail: Letters of recommendation

Walk Lola and Luke

1:00 meeting with TB

Buy cheap spiral notebooks

Check out For the Love of Writing retreat, Charleston

Old Friend from Far Away writing practices

Work on newsletter (due Tues)

Call about office rental

Pay Visa, health ins

PA research, follow LG's tip

Stop by Bakeshop

Catch up on phone calls and e-mails

Proofread blog posts before sending

"Caress the divine details" -- Vladimir Nabokov

Remember the Milk

2010-01-12T15:20:00.007-05:00

Check Remember the Milk site and download iPhone app

Walk Lola and Luke

Replay last 15 mins Choice Points seminar, Patti Digh and David Robinson

Read "The Americanization of Mental Illness" by Ethan Watters

Buy monitor wipes

Dinner with Julie, The Colonnade

Grant research for client

Office space research for client

Read "Keep Your Journal Resolution"

Letters of rec for Chris (MFA writing programs) by Feb 1

* "Antique Milk Bottles" by painter Michael Naples

Stop Dropping the Ball

2010-01-03T21:02:00.004-05:00

Need I say more? Wishing you a Happy New Year!

* Image found at Times Square Alliance

Falling For Ira

2009-12-22T14:02:00.005-05:00

Look for owner of John Doe dog (aka "Ira")

Chew toys and tennis balls

Check Ivy Hall Writers Series calendar

Pay studio rent

Write holiday cards

L.L. Bean, other online orders

Find Christmas stockings

Mall

Journaling continued

Buy avocados, Southwestern Christmas Salad makings, Kahlúa, Cab

Walk Ira

Look for Springform Pants

2009-12-17T22:16:00.007-05:00

Return to journaling

Walk off chocolate

Tidy up guest room

Install Snow Leopard

Invoice research project

Play Kathy Griffin's "Suckin' It for the Holidays"

Laundry

Bills, balance checkbook

Stocking stuffers

Cards, gifts to L.A.

E-mail directions to CB

Replenish overnight bag

8:30 p.m. The Week Before Christmas party

* See's Candies, including Toffee-ettes, can be found at Perimeter and Lenox Square malls

Monday: Face the Truth

2009-12-13T22:06:00.005-05:00

Start the week by supporting your fellow writers and getting a holiday dose of inspiration at the second coming of the "True Story!" reading series. More details at the event Facebook page. In short, it'll be at Kavarna coffeehouse at 8 p.m. in Oakhurst.

Writing, Reading, and Wreathmetic

2009-12-05T11:16:00.009-05:00

Note "You Drinkie, You No Drive" from anatomyofadinnerparty.com

Wrap "Sno-Way Jose" CD for hosts

Little Tree Studios holiday art sale

Countdown to El Vez

2009-12-01T08:04:00.008-05:00

Make "sunnies" with leftover stuffing

Last day poetry submission to Alimentum

Walk (listen to MP3 of Old Friend From Far Away)

Pick up Love at the Pub at Heliotrope

Buy clarified butter (ghee), white wine

Freelance research and surveys continued

NaNoWriMo 2010

Call Dad

Dinner with Donna, 7:15 at The Earl

El Vez & Los Straitjackets show, 9:00

* Image found at elvez.net

Writing Down the Turkey Bones

2009-11-23T13:37:00.009-05:00

Walk Lola

Pay bills

Research factoids for Jamie

Re-read Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg

Download "Never Regret the Nights" CD by Lucas Mire

Alimentum poetry deadline 12/1

Pack mixing bowls

Check cooking time 24-lb turkey

52 x 52 tablecloth

Iron napkins

Print brussels sprouts recipe

* "Turkey's Thanksgiving" by illustrator Lisa Rush

Toasting the Blissful Bride-to-Be

2009-11-19T16:41:00.005-05:00

Research project blitzkrieg cont'd

Call Mom re shopping Fri

Pay florist

Make taco date for Don Pedro's

Which high heels for wedding ?

Buy stockings

7:30 Jen's bachelorette party

* "Champagne and High Heels" by Mark Schwartz at dailypainters.com

Writing and Rhinestones

2009-11-17T08:39:00.008-05:00

Download Write or Die desktop

Quick 500

Restaurant photos to ed

Prep new client mtngs, 11:00, 2:00

Dekalb Farmers Market (bring Cook Food recipes)

The Bead Shoppe for missing rhinestone (bring black dress)

Walk

Read WSJ article "How to Write a Great Novel"

Initial interview queries

7:15 Mary Kay Andrews at Decatur Library

* Image found at sydneysvintageclothing.com

Stop Doodling

2009-11-11T11:49:00.006-05:00

Today I leave you with a link to this Monty Python gem, "Thomas Hardy Writes The Return of the Native," as we report disappointing numbers for November so far:

Tweets: 22

Facebook posts: 18

NANOWRIMO word count: 0

* Image of "216.lame doodles" found at bubblewrap

Good Office Housekeeping

2009-11-10T14:08:00.008-05:00

Clean out office

File receipts, billing statements

Ditch old mags

Balance checkbook

Download Barbara Kingsolver's NPR interview

Buy Spanish chorizo at Pine Street Market

RSVP bachelorette party

Pick up R/x

Order Mary's new poetry book, Equivocal Blessings

NANOWRIMO or NOMO?

Image found at Plan59.com

Start Holiday Books Buying

2009-11-04T08:36:00.006-05:00

Walk Lola

Where is UPS package ?

Write mid-day (check in NANOWRIMO)

Catch up with The Blissful Glutton

Restaurant photos continued

Tall trash bags, leaf bags

6:30 p.m. Augusten Burroughs at Ivy Hall

NANOWRIMO Begins

2009-11-02T16:35:00.009-05:00

Day 2, National Novel Writing Month

Find noise canceling headphones (or ask studio neighbor to stop singing out loud)

Call back Tim

Thank-you notes

Mineral water, half & half, coffee, tea, lemon

Walk before dark

Office candle

Pure Taqueria (now open) in Inman Park

Triptych or Treat

2009-10-29T12:26:00.009-04:00

Read Chris's "Duck Triptych" story

Buy eggs, tuna, coffeemaker filter, Halloween candy

Journal (David's visit, b-day resolutions)

Write (lunch to dinner)

Bookmark "Robochef" series

Walk

Forward "It's Decorative Gourd Season, M****er F****ers"

Gina's baby shower gift

Check GAW's new deadline (Nov)

"Halloween Candy" drawing by Sherry Thurner at flickr.com

Find Galoshes

2009-10-27T10:39:00.007-04:00

Restaurant notes to GraceAnn

Check in with Jen

Write min 5 hours

See NANOWRIMO site (novel writing project starts Nov 1)

Order a copy of Spotted in Paris

Gina's birthday

Pay phone bill

Make lunch date for Bocado

Add Omnivore Books on Food to SFO to-do list

For the history of the Morton Salt Girl, click here

Cross Restaurant Reviewing Off the List

2009-10-21T11:15:00.004-04:00

Today's to-do list is interrupted for this first installment of Fed Up: Why Hanging Around Foodies Makes Me Sick:

I forgot the details of last night’s tasting menu as quickly as the dirty dish for each item was whisked away. It was late. I was tired and hungry and more interested in hearing about my friend’s, Sally’s, new boyfriend and her upcoming move to Washington, DC. I had no intention of recounting the meal and so I only half-listened to our server’s presentations and did not take a single note. This morning, just for kicks, I tried to remember the five courses. I failed miserably. This is just one reason why I have never had a strong desire to be a restaurant reviewer and why I have great respect for those who do it professionally. Here, to the best of my faulty recollection, is a recap of last night’s meal at Restaurant Eugene in Buckhead:

We began with a winning sparkling rosé (I did not look at the label so I cannot tell you the vintner’s name. The bottle was green and the label was a deep pink color, if that helps.)

Next came an amuse-bouche of a single Kumomoto oyster topped with tiny bits of crisp some-kinda-special apple (didn’t catch the variety name). I’m not sure if the apple was sautéed or not. I mean, they were really tiny cubes of apple—come on. It tasted briny and sweet. I could have eaten a dozen of them.

A single scallop, maybe seared, in some buttery-citrusy sauce. It tasted orange-y. We wanted more.

Salmon tartare with sunchoke (look it up), vanilla orange (vanilla orange “what” I have no idea), and red chili. This item was actually on the menu so I lifted most of the description from there.

Duck breast medallions and bits of lardon and a deep berry-colored jus of uh, uh…It was delicious.

Cheese course. A rectangle of cheddar-like cheese served with a baguette-like crisp and what was that other thing…? The server told us the cheese came from a farm in North Carolina. He told us that the farmers only have three cows. I wasn’t sure if this was a good or a bad thing. I assumed the former.

Dessert was an itty-bitty round biscuit, some lemony cream, a little swirl of toasted meringue, maybe a hint of ginger, some balsamic vinegar-y dots encircling the sweet stack. Eh.

Note: Something last night was topped with this wonderful pickled ginger sliver. And golden chanterelle mushrooms were laced through another dish, somewhere....

This blurry restaurant table scene was found at Frenchtowner.com

Read "The Halloween Tree"

2009-10-20T17:23:00.005-04:00

As I wait for my dinner companion to call back and tell me if we're headed to Restaurant Eugene or The Iberian Pig, my thoughts wander to my list of books to read. Near the top is The Halloween Tree, a fantasy novel written by Ray Bradbury and illustrated by Joseph Mugnaini. I love the oil painting by the same name (shown here), which was painted by Bradbury several years before the book's publication. The image was found at The Drunken Severed Head blog.

True Story! Storytelling Tonight

2009-10-19T11:52:00.008-04:00

One of the things I miss most about living in San Francisco (I moved to Atlanta in 2006) is the monthly Porchlight Storytelling series hosted by the delightful duo of Beth Lisick and Arlene Klatte. Well, I finally found a new source for my storytelling fix and a way to make myself stop pouting about not making it back to the Bay Area for this year's Litquake hoopla. Tonight is the first installment of the True Story! reading series. The venue for the event is Kavarna tavern and coffeeshop in Oakhurst, next to Decatur (besides drink, Kavarna also serves sandwiches, appetizers, and soups). Come early, grab a glass of wine, and prepare to get lit with some "rogue writers and nervy journalists." Tonight's show starts at 8 p.m. (Next one is Dec 14.)

* Image lifted from the True Story! Facebook page

Get in the Zone

2009-10-18T10:29:00.005-04:00

Walk Lola

Eat French toast and ham

Read "The Zone" chapter, From Where You Dream: The Process of Writing Fiction

Spend day with French Toast man

Call Mom

Write in Mark's attic

Prep for Mon. mtng with Lynn

Check tour dates for The Cake Mix Doctor

"French Toast Man" by Frank Peak

Go to Hellish Reading

2009-10-15T15:25:00.005-04:00

Transcribe Barbara's notes to journal

Write afternoon-eve

See Cakes Gone Wrong photos and article in NYT (thanks Mary Flad)

Order spooky Halloween birthday cake or cupcakes

Buy coffee, pasta, dishwasher soap, napkins

7:15 Robert Olen Butler, author of Hell, Decatur Library reading

Stop by Wm Turner Gallery

* Skeleton cupcake found at 52cupcakes.blogspot.com

Start Showing Up

2009-10-13T15:51:00.006-04:00

More writing time

Watch Eliz Gilbert's TED Talk on nurturing creativity

Mail Tybee Island T-shirt to Isabella

Return shoes to Zappos

3 restaurant shorts due 10/28

Rough outline main characters

Pick up Rx

Check in with Lynne and Lynn

Brona's b-day Sun, 10/18

Meet up at Serpas

Make Packing List

2009-10-05T17:10:00.004-04:00

Going home to pack and get in a little writing this evening. Also plan to check out the new Lists for Life Travel Packing List iPhone app from author Rory Tahari. More dispatches from the island...

Goodbye Gourmet, 1940-2009

2009-10-05T15:18:00.006-04:00

Today's announcement of the magazine's closing makes for one less Gourmet at the holiday table this year. Sadness all around. Best wishes to Ruth Reichl and her staff and contributors.

Julie and Julia and James

2009-10-02T10:59:00.006-04:00

Ask James about "Capitalism Did This" signs and protesters outside Midtown Arts Cinema

Buy pink highlighters

Drop off DeKalb Neighbor to Susan

Post office

Write in studio

Clip coffee can ice cream recipe from ReadyMade.com

Lingerie shopping

Mom's

Get to Antico Pizza Napoletana before the dough runs out

Respond to editor who has no dough

* Julia Child doll costume ($19) by pistachiolibby at etsy.com

Turn It Off

2009-10-01T16:06:00.006-04:00

How are we supposed to get any work done with friends sending us links to Food Network Humor ?

* Retro TV image by JaZilla at zazzle.com

Mum's the Word

2009-10-01T12:59:00.006-04:00

Plant mums

Get bacon salt

Make hair appt

Send Lynn For the Love of Letters

Pay Visa

Balance checkbook

Walk (bring camera)

Read "Best New Restaurants," Oct issue Atlanta mag

Research business plan models

7:00 Barbara

Next up The Iberian Pig

* Spider Mums and Autumn Ferns watercolor by Amy Abshier Reyes at flickr.com

Buy Coffee

2009-09-30T10:54:00.005-04:00

Journal a.m.

Res to SF editor

Walk

Writers meeting at Octane, Emory Village

Drop off bank/expenses paperwork

Stop at Sawicki's

Because-it's-finally-fall barbecue, Jen's

"Mad Men" catch-up

* Barista Machine painting by Ezju

Downey Boy

2009-09-29T19:29:00.009-04:00

Record tonight's "Hell's Kitchen"

Save L.A. Times article on Roots on the Rail train ride with Dave Alvin (add to To-Do trips)

Meet Jen and James at Nathalie's Fish House

RSVP barbecue

E-mail Lynn

Write p.m.

Pay phone bill

Renew The New Yorker

Bed early !!

* Photo of Dave Alvin (front) and Butch Hancock and Jimmie Dale Gilmore by Christina House/For The Times

Como se dice "defriend" ?

2009-09-26T10:48:00.011-04:00

Finish ironing

Purge closets

Pay rent

Open mail

Write 12-2

Check out new McSweeney's app

Walk (listen to podcast of "This American Life": The Fix is In)

Unlink stinky LinkedIn contacts

Practice Spanish

* Image by Flora Chang at happydoodleland.blogspot.com

Enough With the Chitchat

2009-09-25T11:14:00.009-04:00

Stick to the lists

More Dear Abby equals instant perspective

PA misc (expenses, bookkeeping software)

Read The New Yorker's "Table for Two"

Walk

Deposit checks

File receipts

3:00 Live chat, Susan Orlean on Raising Chickens, (video here)

Rent films "The Paper" and "Recount"

4-5:30 swim

Poets' Workroom assignment (poem inspired by photo)

* Backyard chickens raised by my writer friend, Callie Kindrish, in Petaluma, California

Oh I Love To Eat It Every Day...

2009-09-24T15:36:00.016-04:00

Print out Creative Loafing Best of Atlanta '09, Oral Pleasures

Check cooking classes The Art Institute of Atlanta

Supermarket Chicago for tortillas, chorizo, Mex cheese, pan dulce, candles

Heel pad inserts, razors

Walk (look for neighbor's missing cat, Pedro)

Listen Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women on World Cafe

Write p.m. (1,000 words or death)

Last day AirTran tix sale

Date Terri's Xmas party?

E-mail Dad

Fried bologna sandwich research continued

* Image of Oscar Mayer kid from 1973 commercial

Consider the Turkey

2009-09-23T21:24:00.006-04:00

"If you go to the grocery store and you stand in front of the lunchmeat section for too long you start to get pissed off at turkeys. You see, like, turkey ham, turkey pastrami, turkey bologna. Someone needs to tell the turkeys, man, just be yourself." -- Mitch Hedberg

* Image found at naturesharmonyfarm.com

Day-Glo in the Rain

2009-09-19T11:46:00.007-04:00

Good day to journal, highlight stuff in Day-Glo colors, listen to episodes of Writing Excuses, and consider why it's important to chew with your mouth closed by watching the new Yo La Tengo video from "Popular Songs."

The Day-Glo Brothers available at Little Shop of Stories in Decatur.

Seek Out Images

2009-09-17T18:39:00.006-04:00

The rain is falling and we're having a hard time with words today so heading out tonight for the opening reception of John Morse's installation, Inside, at the Wm Turner Gallery. A snack at nearby Krog Bar may be in order, too.

* Late-night note: Just back from the installation. Loved it ! Dangling cut-out Mylar figures exceedingly fun and slightly unnerving. Apparently some of the kitchen staff from Rathbun's came for an early preview and couldn't handle the funhouse freak factor and went scurrying back to their mise en place. Bunch of babies.

Due today: Quarterly Taxes

2009-09-15T14:59:00.004-04:00

Handy for made-up meal expenses and to-do lists. Available at most office supply stores.

Beyond Labor Day

2009-09-12T09:41:00.008-04:00

Read more from Labor Day by Joyce Maynard *

Target: new bathroom wall clock

Check Agnes Writes class schedule

Pay estimated taxes (due Sep 15)

Start food journal

Take Omega-3 supplements

Drink lemon water

Meet Felix the cat tonight at SB's (bring wine)

* Spoiler alert: I'm loving Joyce Maynard's new novel, Labor Day, especially Chapter 7, which includes a detailed account of making a proper pie filling and crust (as told by an escaped convict making dessert for his two captives in their kitchen)