Other People's Stuff

I'm making a concerted effort not to buy anything new if I can reasonably find it used somewhere else. While I'm not as hard core as these folks, I am trying to do most of my shopping for non-consumables at thrift stores and yard sales for both cost and environmental reasons. Yesterday was the Binkley Baptist Yard Sale. It, along with the ABC Sale at Chapel of the Cross, are the big ones when it comes to church sales in the area. I love the chaos of these sales. They're a great place to get furniture, kitchenware, and books. My other favorite place to pick up used things is the Habitat Hand Me Ups store in Durham. They've recently expanded and the selection is amazing!

A used tea crate I got at the Binkley sale for $2. It makes a great table!

A table I found by the side of the road and refinished. I'm happy with the result.

Anathoth Garden

One of my favorite places is Anathoth Community Garden in Cedar Grove, NC about 30 minutes from my house. I went out on Saturday for the monthly Eucharist and to pick some flowers. They're on my mantel now (see pic below) but I'm taking them to some of the teachers at school on Monday. Anathoth is a community garden started by Cedar Grove United Methodist Church. For me it is a source of free produce, good physical labor, and fellowship with those with whom I might not normally interact. Everyone from kids doing court-ordered community service to Hispanic migrant laborers to Duke Divinity School students is there. Every Saturday workday is followed by a big potluck usually with food folks have prepared using produce from the garden.

Bathroom Pictures Finally!

The bathroom in the midst of painting

The finished product. The color is not quite as dark as the photo shows. It was hard to get a good pic.


The floor. The color is not showing up true to life.

The Bathroom Saga III

The tile is finished! Now, I just need to get around to painting...

Durham: The Bull City

When I bought Amelia (I decided on the informal name), I moved back to Durham where I lived for the first two years of grad school. Durham's a great city, although not without its flaws.

Here are some of my favorite places in Durham:

Elmo's Diner- diner food that doesn't make you feel awful after you eat
Durham Academy- the school where I taught last year
Foster's Market- one of my favorite restaurants when I first came to Durham
Watts Grocery- a restaurant with way yummy local food
Durham Bulls Athletic Park- a great old-school feel
Duke- the greatest university on the face of the earth :)
Fullsteam- just a twinkle in Sean Wilson's eye
One World Market- fairly traded handcrafts from around the world

The Bathroom Saga II

The bathroom was due to be finished today, but, alas, it was not to be. The extra tile didn't come in until late afternoon and the floor is going to have to be re-grouted because the grout color doesn't match. The tile guys are scheduled to come in the morning so I'll keep my fingers crossed. I'm hopeful that I'll be able to paint this weekend.

The Bathroom Saga

I've always loved tile bathrooms; they just feel so substantial. So when I decided to buy a house, I wanted to put tile in the bathroom if it wasn't there already. The house I bought didn't have tile so I decided to take the week before I had to report to school to get it re-done.

Oh the folly. The work that was supposed to take 48 hours is still not finished. Thankfully after 5 days of being without them I now have a (mostly) working shower and toilet. There for awhile it was like camping in my own house.

The bathroom before

Toilet under the carport

The exposed walls
The work so far- still need some tile put up and the drywall mudded and sanded