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3 Crosses in Bolar, Virginia. View du Jour, June 28, 2018

We were near the end of our visit to Highland County, VA having spent a week in the Wilson House not too far from Monterey, Virginia. A friend mentioned an abandoned swimming pool in Bolar, Virginia. Riding back to our place from Monterey we decided to take a ride along Rt. 220 not sure where we were going. Just about the time we felt like we had driven enough and it was time to turn around we came upon a sign for Bolar. Turned off the main road and followed a road to Bolar. A very small town with a few houses and a 25 MPH sign. Just as we were going through the speed zone we saw a road on the right and took it. We never found the pool but did see these 3 crosses on 3 trees in a flat area off the road. They seemed like they had been put up recently, maybe with the last year. The crosses in a very pastoral setting with good light made the picture easy to take with little post-processing.

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2018 06 30 ernie Travel
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Ferns, View du Jour. June 6, 2018


An  early June morning. I went to the back of our property near the creek. There is a very nice stand of ferns on the opposite side of the creek, not cultivated but encouraged. The regularity  of the fonds always interests me. This is a photo of one that exemplifies that regularity and symmetry.

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2018 06 30 ernie Gardening
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Insect in bee balm, View du Jour 6/20/2018

We had some folks over for a barbecue, the Shekanino kids. Just to take a break, around dusk I took a quick walk  in the front yard. The light was very complimentary to some lavender bee balm that was just starting to bloom so I tried to get as close as I could. After the first shot I discovered there was in insect in the flower. I took a few more shots and after looking at them I selected this one because of the length and position of the antennae. I did have to crop the image closely to get this look, but the Pixel 2 has a great lens so we can see great detail of the flower and the insect.

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2018 06 30 ernie view du jour Comments (0) Permalink

A Place to Bury Strangers – Pinned – 5th Album

Cover of PinnedA Place to Bury Strangers are releasing  Pinned,  their 5th album, on April 13. They also have tours in Europe and North America planned starting in March. Here are links to news about the album and the tour.

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2018 02 02 ernie A Place to Bury Strangers Comments (0) Permalink

About dying – when the river stops


I recently read I Curse the River of Time by Per Petterson. AN introspective story of son and Mother. The title comes form a quote of Chairman Mao. Time does not stand still, things change. Petterson makes an excellent observation about dying, when the river stops.

“.. but when it came to dying, I was scared. Not of being dead, that I could not comprehend, to be nothing was impossible to grasp and therefore nothing really to be scared of, but the dying itself I could comprehend, the very instant where you know that now comes what you have always feared, and you suddenly realise that every chance of being the person you really wanted to be, is gone for ever, and the one you were, is the one those around you will remember. Then that must feel like someone’s strong hands slowly tightening their grip around your neck until you can breathe no more, and not at all as when a door is slowly pushed open and bright light comes streaming out from inside and a woman or a man you had always known and liked, maybe always loved, leans out and gently takes your hand and leads you to a place of rest, so mild and so fine, from eternity to eternity.”

Who says the Hungarians are the ones who are always obsessing over depressing situations? 🙂

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2017 11 26 ernie Books
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Short Review: Smitten Kitchen Every Day by Deb Perlman

Deb Perlman’s recipes are some of my favorites. I often check her site smittenkitchen.com first when I’m looking for a recipe or an idea of ways to use some ingredients we have. For example, the recipe I mention below was selected because we had bought 2 bushels of apples  and wanted to make a treat with several of them. WE also love ginger!

A couple of weeks ago I got  my turn at her book Smitten Kitchen Every Day Triumphant & Unfussy New Favorites.  As expected, it is filled with great recipes and informative, interesting commentary on the recipes.

We’ve made her recipe “Wintry Apple Bake with Double Ginger Crumble” twice now and plan to make it another two times before the end of this Thanksgiving week. We used only fresh ginger in the recipe , substituting that for the ground ginger called for.  We keep saying”Thank you Deb Perlman” as we enjoy each delicious bite.

Get the cookbook if you can. It is the #1 Best Seller in desserts at Amazon now.

 

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2017 11 18 ernie food
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Butterfly visitor in late October

We don’t ‘clean-up’ our garden in Fall by pulling flowers that are still in bloom or vegetables that show promise for producing a bit more. Yesterday we were happy to see a monarch butterfly seemingly enjoying the remaining blooms. Sad to say that in about two weeks or so the flowers and many of the pollinators will be gone with the coming of frost. Here are a few pics form yesterday’s visit.

2017 10 25 ernie Uncategorized Comments (0) Permalink

Eating in New Orleans

Lynn and I took a trip to  New Orleans this past Spring. We arrived on Easter Sunday and met up with our friends Patrick & Paula the next day and stayed until the following Monday – eight nights in all. Aside from Lynn’s unfortunate accident – she tripped on the street and fell on her face which resulted in a trip to the Tulane Hospital Emergency Room and them a trip to an oral surgeon the next day to have her teeth relocated, the trip was enjoyable.

Easter Sunday we stayed at

From Monday to Monday we stayed at Place D’Arms Hotel very much in the French Quarter near St. Louis Cathedral and Jackson Square.

 

Places we had a great breakfast:

  • New Orleans Cake Cafe & Bakery, 2440 Chartes Street, New Orleans 70177. ByWater neighborhood.Corned Beef Hash at Cake Cafe NOLA Most excellent corned beef hash, Eggs Benedict, baked goods. A line but I’d stand in line there any day.
  • Elizabeth’s Restaurant, 601 Gallier St, New Orleans, 70177. ByWater Neighborhood. Good food, artsy ambiance. Very good, not fancy.
  • Surrey’s Cafe and Juice Bar, 1418 Magazine Street, New orleans. Garden District. Good breakfast choices – shrimp and grits, eggs Benedict.

Other places we enjoyed:

  • Cochon, 930 Tchoupitoulas Street, New Orleans 70130. We ate there our first night, Had wood fired oysters, excellent.
  • Felix’s Restaurant and Oyster Bar, 739 Iberville St, New Orleans, 70130. French Quarter. We ate there 3 times. Totally enjoyed the barbecued oysters the first two time, but not so much the third time. Nice place to eat. Across the street from Acme Oyster House.
  • Eat, 900 Dumaine St, New Orleans, 70116. A popular farm-to-table type restaurant in the French Quarter. We got in late without reservations but reservations are recommended. Excellent smoked ribs, fried green tomatoes, bread pudding (and we usually don’t like bread pudding.) Next time we go I’d like to try it for brunch.
  • Jacques-Imo’s, 8324 Oak Street, New Orleans, 701118.
    Interior Jacques-Imo's

    Interior Jacques-Imo’s

    If we had to choose which place was best for us, this would win. An eclectic menu. Where else can you get a slice of a savory alligator cheese cake toped with shrimp?Great food, drinks, and service. Relaxed atmosphere and VERY popular. We went in just as they opened. The place was filled within 20 minutes!

  • Commander’s Palace, 1403 Washington Ave, New Orleans, 70130. Garden District. We ate lunch at this famous restaurant  and Garden District landmark.for lunch. The fried catfish, green tomatoes, flaming bananas Foster, and 25 cent martinis were excellent. No shorts or open toed shoes (for men) at lunch. An elegant restaurant from the service to the ambiance to the china, well worth the visit and the experience.
  • Three Muses, 536 Frenchmen St, New Orleans, LA 70116. It’s on Frenchman Street, just outside of the French Quarter. This place offers jazz combos during dinner. Dinner was great! All small plates, and each was delicious. Excellent drinks as well.
  • Cane and Table, 1113 Decatur Street, New Orleans, LA 70116.  IN the French Quarter. They classify themselves as ‘prototiki.’ They had interesting rum cocktails and Caribbean-inspired food. A good place for cocktails and light food, but if we were more hungry we would have tried some more substantial faire.
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2017 09 15 ernie food Comments (0) Permalink

APTBS Tour Diary by The Photoladies

A nice collection of photos taken during the APTBS spring tour by a variety of talented photographers. A Place to Bury Strangers Tour Diary

4.24.17 – Cleveland, OH – Beachtend Tavern - Judie Vegh

4.25.17 – Louisville, KY – Zanzabar - Emily May

5.2.17 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Steel - Em Grey

5.6.17 – Toronto, ON – Danforth Music Hall - Joanna Glezakos

5.11.17 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall - Kris Fuentes Cortes

5/18 – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall - Violeta Alvarez

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View du jour. May 1, 2016

viewdujourJune12016 A picture taken at the Fredericksburg Farmers Market on the first day of June. Spring crops have been available for a few weeks and some summer crops are coming in. These are , obviously, purple turnips – the spring ones that are sweeter and more tender than the ones available in the fall. These are from Blenheim Gardens an organic farm near George Washington’s Birthplace, about 30 or so miles from Fredericksburg. We know the family. They are really nice and their produce is great too. I chose this photo because of the predominance of light colors with a touch of green that is in contrast to eh black background of the sign. The colors of the lettering are similar to the colors of the produce.

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2017 02 04 ernie food
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