Home as Art

I had brunch with a friend on Saturday. She lives in the cutest neighborhood. I always enjoy hanging out with her. She often takes me to new places and I get to know my hometown in new ways. One of our common interests is urban(ish) living.

Coffee at Cocoa Cinnamon

Long time no post...and I feel the need to apologize or explain...which is silly. I write this mainly as a memoir for myself. I like the space and the voice that it gives me. The blog is certainly not a journal, although I have kept journals in the past. My journal entries meander and often forget to come to a point or conclusion. My favorite journals are the ones I kept while traveling. I recently dug one out to remind myself of a few things. I am so thankful for my words because they transported me back to that place and time. I plan on sharing some of that trip here...soon.

At Cocoa Cinnamon - Durham

It's crazy how fast a year moves by, in the macro sense, I mean. October is over half over and tonight we have our first frost warning. Can it be that only two weeks ago (three?) I was sitting outside with a friend over coffee and cake?

We walked to Cocoa Cinnamon, a cool small coffee shop with signature coffees that include things like black lava salt or cayenne pepper. I wasn't brave enough for the pepper or the salt, but I did have a latte with blackstrap molasses. It turns out that blackstrap molasses are NOT sweet. --Surprise.

Durham has some pockets of coolness. I have not discovered all of them. The downtown area is becoming revitalized with new construction (read: Apartments, Condos, Office Buildings...High-End loft type spaces). But the edges of the area are making good use of what we used to call old (sometimes abandoned) now considered historic buildings. I have a real appreciation for these buildings and spaces.  I love that new life is being poured into them. Like a good pair of jeans, the area feels grown into to...softened and more comfortable than new.

Thoughts...Some are Whimsical

On our walkabout, I could not resist taking a pic of the fairy's swimming pool. Although it was a lovely sunny day, it was still too cold for swimming...even for fairies. I'll have to check back when it gets warmer.

Last week I had a wonderful yoga experience and spent the rest of the week wanting to re-create it. I want yoga to become a part of my workout routine. I struggled with the word "workout" here...because I've found yoga to be incongruous with the word. Yoga can absolutely help with toning muscles and promoting balance and all things physical. Yet, it's a somewhat mellow and introspective activity. 

I have this "story" to share and I feel like there is something I'm supposed to learn from it...but I'm struggling with exactly what. 

I've been making a concerted effort to add exercise to my schedule. That is an almost unintended result of leaving the office (and work) earlier. By "earlier" I mean "on time". I tend to work beyond "normal working hours", which is not necessarily a bad thing once in a while...but I believe to achieve my goals I need to be disciplined in not allowing work to consume my attention at the expense of life-affirming activities. --You know like sweating and wheezing on a stationary bike. --That kind of thing.

Anyway, I signed up for a yoga class on Thursday night. It sounded like such a relaxing class (candlelight) and such a nice way to "enter into" Friday as the weekend approached. I signed up online and paid my drop-in fee and was quite excited about what awaited me. My thought was this: Change into my yoga clothes in our gym's changing room. And drive to the yoga studio ready to walk in for practice. I budgeted my time to allow me to get there on time.  --Not early, like I meant to...but on time.

I should mention that the studio is 31 miles from my office. Because the class was in the evening, I thought I would miss evening rush hour traffic just breeze up the highway. I pretty much "know" how long the ride should take. Except...for when there's an accident. When there is an accident all bets are off. When I was a commuter using this highway, I always checked the traffic report (on the radio) before getting on the highway. If there was an accident, I found an alternate route.

I didn't expect there to be an accident this long after rush hour. I guess you can see where I'm going with this. There was an accident...and all three lanes of traffic were just stopped. A complete standstill. 

I called the studio to let them know...I'd be late (if I made it)...I wanted to be sure that they didn't think I was just a no-show. After a lane opened up I continued on my trek. I kept going thinking...maybe I'll be able to come in late. But, alas, I was too late.

So, I now had to drive 18 miles home a little dejected and a lot disappointed. Here's the thing (one of them, anyway), my night was nowhere near as horrible as the people that were in the car accident. There was an ambulance and no less than four state troopers on the scene. It was dark, so I couldn't see much but I hope beyond hope that no one was critically hurt. 

As I was driving home I kept asking: "What am I supposed to learn from this?" I turned on the radio and found a new station that plays '80s music at 8:00. So, I got to rock out on the way home. Joan Jett sounded so so good. The music certainly helped me enjoy the ride home.

But really, what am I supposed to learn? I think I'm supposed to learn that I don't live "there" anymore. What used to be just 15 minutes out of the way on my way home is now almost 50 miles! What was I thinking? I can not think I will be able to make the wonderful studio "my" studio. Not during the week anyway.

So here's the other thing: I'm kind of disoriented. I lived in the SW portion of town for over four years. But what's more, I lived on the same side of town for my entire youth (until I got married). I love our new apartment...but I don't think I've completely gotten acclimated. Where we live is now closer to Raleigh than it is to Durham. But also, where we live is relatively newly developed. There is a fantastic shopping center 5 miles away. But so far, all of the yoga places I'm finding are closer to downtown...which feels foreign to me. It also seems far. And, I may be a little intimidated.

I feel like home is sort of like Winnie the Pooh's middle stair in a staircase:

It isn't really Anywhere! It's somewhere else Instead!   

An Autumn Afternoon in the Middle of Winter

The weekend before last was absolutely lovely. Sunny, in the low 60°s and blue skies. Saturday was a day that was meant to be outside. So...that's what we did. We went on a walkabout. 

We moved into our new place last Fall. The surrounding neighborhood is vast and lovely. There is a walking trail that goes into the woods and runs along a stream. So on Saturday, Jordan and I decided to explore the neighborhood that surrounds us and also explore the trail.

I took my camera (the good one) so I could get back into photographing. Walking around the neighborhood was a treat. I could not resist taking a picture of the porch with this weathered rocker.

There are several things I enjoy about where we live. There's a neighborhood "center" that has a park-like quality. It's basically open space with some outdoor art. This on the main road of the neighborhood. I usually take a sort of back road in and out of the neighborhood because it is closer to my place. But at least a couple of times a week I drive by this area. I love, love, love the "birdhouse tree". The whole thing is a sculpture.

How cool is that?

As you can see, I got distracted on the way to the trail...but we did actually make it to the trail. One thing we should have done (but didn't) was to actually look at the trail map at the entrance. That way we could gauge where we were in relation to where we were going. But, it was also nice not really knowing where the next bend would be. It allowed us to stay in the "now" and not think ahead to what's next on the map. 

It was really quite a lovely day. It was nice to feel the crunch of the leaves under our feet and see the sun backlighting trees that still haven't let go of their leaves. It felt like Autumn...and not mid-January.  I'll take sunny, blue sky days anytime. Especially when there is a nice breeze too.

I'm glad I took my camera along. And since we were up and out and walking...not strenuously...but not just sitting on the couch either...I get to count this as part of owning a workout habit.

My goals for 2015? They are totally happening. 

Hope you are having a great week.

Fun and Funky Deli Downtown

A few weeks ago I met a friend for lunch. We met at a local deli in a renovated tobacco warehouse. Tobacco warehouses are what makes up the historic downtown area known as the Brightleaf District.  Get it? Brightleaf? It's the name of the tobacco leaf that NC and VA developed before the Civil War. The new way the leaf was was cured produced a bright/yellow milder tobacco leaf. 

I didn't mean to turn this into a history "thing".  But I do love how the city is reviving and embracing the older buildings and giving them new life. 

The deli is one of my favorite places to spend a few hours. It is such a cool place with hardwood floors and nooks and crannies. There are so many fun things to look at. I love all the retro things they offer.  It a fun eclectic place to have a sandwich or a dessert and something to drink. And then walk around and imagine all of their fun things coming home with you. My friend's office is in the same building. The area is such a cool place. If I were a tourist here I would think it is a funky hip place to live and work. And actually, it sort of is. 

The downtown area is being rebuilt with new high rise condos and apartments that are perfect for transplants from more metro areas. The trendy new residences should continue to make our downtown a vibrant place. The cost to live downtown is out of my price range. My guess is that it's out of most "locals" price range. But it's likely transplants from DC or NYC or even SF will find the new housing fairly and marketably priced. 

Here are a few things that I did not buy...but totally wanted to.

Still Discovering My Home Town

Durham is decidedly a different place from the town that I left so many years ago. Of course, I'm decidedly different too. 

When I was growing up in my hometown my travel radius was pretty small. In fact, most of my destinations were outside of the city limits in the "county". Tobacco fields were a staple for the area. Pastures of horses and cows were sprinkled throughout the area. 

It did not seem odd that the town I called home was known nationally as the "City of Medicine". Duke University Hospital and UNC Medical School are ten miles apart. I was fairly comfortable visiting the campus of both schools and felt that they both are a part of my home.

The schools brought professionals and academics from all over the world. My home town had a small town but a diverse flavor. 

While "I was gone" I lived in several places. I spent ten years in the state's largest city which is a banking hub. This is less true today than it was ten years ago. Mergers and reorganizations have changed that landscape. But, when I was there I felt I was living in the heart of the South's metropolis. Looking back I realize that the population in Bank Town was not nearly as diverse as my home town. 

I also lived in the Seattle/Bellevue, WA area for seven years before moving back to my home town. That was such a great experience. We lived in a downtown high rise and loved it. I had my first Turducken courtesy of my friend that relocated from New Orleans.  

When I relocated back to my hometown I paid very little attention to its foodie hype. I figured it was a sort of city self-promotion. Many of my work colleagues had relocated from Silicon Valley. One was from DC and one from Boston. I remember they talked about Chicken and Waffles. I don't think I had heard of this before and I could not imagine what this combination would taste like. I like chicken and I love waffles, but I had no desire to combine these.

But then I got curious. When I decided this was something I wanted to taste I found that the "Almost Famous" Chicken and Waffles restaurant always had a line. I mean always. But one afternoon one of my friends took me there. We got in because it was something like 5:00 (maybe earlier?).

Okay...I loved it. And I need to go back. 

I love that I am still discovering surprising experiences without leaving town.

Window Shopping

I love window shopping via Zillow. It's a new past time that I keep finding new ways to enjoy. At first, I checked on the pricing of houses near me to see if I was tempted to sell my sweet house. So far I've not really been tempted. But I had a weird moment at one point where I allowed the "search" to include homes out of my price range. Some were way out of my range, as in "never gonna happen". But with online marketing, I can tour any home (virtually) without being interrogated to see if I can afford to even look at the house, much less step in the front door.

About a year ago my husband and I went to a neighborhood that has wonderfully eclectic homes and we took pics. I can't share them today because I can't find them. I've yet to master the art of organizing digital information. 

But, I can show you one of the houses that I love to look at and have always wanted to see inside. Here it is: