Friday, September 16, 2011

Would you want her promoting your book?


Not the perky one on the left, the OTHER one
Funny. Neither would I.

Nonetheless, I'm going to be on a panel next Friday at the Eat Real Festival in Oakland, California. Come!

Back to our usual programming:

Wednesday night I got back from six days driving around Oregon gathering notes for some travel stories. It was lots of fun, though I find it increasingly hard to fall asleep in hotels.  I drank a huckleberry milkshake, which was delicious, and picked thimbleberries which are even more delicious. I hiked through evergreen forests, had the opportunity to bungee jump and declined, visited the Timberline Lodge, which I admired even more than I did the first time, and toured a botanical garden that made me want to come home and work in my sorry yard.

The last night of the trip, I was eating a chicken salad in the hotel lounge when two older ladies plopped down across from me and we got to chatting. I ended up buying them a round. I realized later that I'd never bought strangers "a round" before, or even said the words, "we'll have another round." I liked the way it made me feel -- not just light-headed and drunk, but big-hearted and convivial.

Then I went back to my room and did not fall asleep the entire night.
Just another crappy photograph of something I liked
The highlight of the trip was a tour of the Gordon House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for a farmer and his artist wife. It's the third Frank Lloyd Wright house that I've visited, and each time I come out of one of these residences I feel sad that I will never get to live in a Frank Lloyd Wright house. Life is hard.

The kitchen looks hideous in my pictures, but trust me, tomato soup-colored countertops notwithstanding, it's a seductive room: unfussy, utilitarian, the perfect size and shape for one or two people who are trying to produce a meal. It isn't aiming to be the "heart of the home" with an island the size of Bermuda, homework center, wine refrigerator, puffy sofa, big screen TV. I think the backlash against the great room kitchen is inevitable simply because of how good -- how refreshing -- this small, thoughtfully designed kitchen looked.
The banquette was designed so it feels like sitting in the seat of a Chevy truck.
I haven't had a chance to cook a meal since I've been home, but when I do, it will be African.

6 comments:

  1. anybody with the guts to run that picture of themself can certainly promote a book in oakland.
    and i think i like the idea of eating dinner in a chevy truck.
    what's the subject of your panel?

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  2. Very cute photo.

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  3. You have unknowingly given me excellent cooking advice - my travel advice is to pick a hotel chain that you like and always stay in it. You may not always know where you are, but you will definitely sleep better. And, travel with those foam earplugs - makes a true difference, especially after a cocktail.
    Can't wait for the book and I wish you great success with the tour.

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  4. hmm, i think i like that tomato soup colored counter top.

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  6. زيت البرتقال يُستخرج زيت البرتقال من قشور البرتقال، وهو من الخيارات الفعّالة للقضاء على العديد من الآفات؛ كالحشرات، والصراصير، والعثّ، والنمل الأبيض، إذ إنّه يحتوي على مادّة كيميائيّة نشطة تُسمّى ليمونين (بالإنجليزية: D-Limonene) والتي تُساهم في القضاء على الآفات، ويُشير العلماء إلى قدرته على إذابة الهيكل الخارجيّ للنمل الأبيض، وتدمير أغشية خلاياه، والقضاء عليه نهائيّاً، ويتمّ استخدامه من خلال تحديد مكان وجود النمل الأبيض أولاً، ثمّ حفر ثقوب في الخشب، وحقن زيت البرتقال في المساحات المُجوّفة حيث يحصل النمل الأبيض على غذائه، وتُشير الدراسات إلى بقاء كميّة متفاوتة منه على قيد الحياة بعد انقضاء مدّة تتراوح من ثلاثة أيام وحتّى ثلاثة أسابيع من العلاج.

    شركة مكافحة النمل الابيض بالخبر
    شركة مكافحة النمل الابيض بابها
    شركة مكافحة النمل الابيض ببريدة
    شركة مكافحة النمل الابيض بحائل

    ReplyDelete