Oct. 8th, 2017
Poem: "The Source of Each Other"
Oct. 8th, 2017 01:40 pmThis poem is spillover from the October 3, 2017 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired and sponsored by ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
chanter_greenie. It also fills the "hearth and home" square in my 10-1-17 card for the Fall Festival bingo. This poem belongs to the Officer Pink thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.
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chanter_greenie. It also fills the "hearth and home" square in my 10-1-17 card for the Fall Festival bingo. This poem belongs to the Officer Pink thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.( Read more... )
Poem: "Overkineralization"
Oct. 8th, 2017 09:00 pmThis poem came out of the October 3, 2017 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from gingicat. It also fills the "excitement" square in my 10-1-17 card for the Fall Festival Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by janetmiles.
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gingicat. It also fills the "excitement" square in my 10-1-17 card for the Fall Festival Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by janetmiles. ( Read more... )
Today's Adventures
Oct. 8th, 2017 09:13 pmToday we went out to visit Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery for a fall event. There was a construction detour on the way, the parking lot was overfull and required parking in an unmown overflow lot, the trail to the barns wasn't well marked, and the activities weren't impressive either. We did note that they sell raw honey, and we bought some goat sausage, so it wasn't a total bust. We also bought some homemade donuts, which were very tasty, although the advertised flavors weren't really discernible. On the whole, we were underwhelmed by the farm. I suspect their heart's in the right place for community outreach, but they don't quite know what they're doing yet when it comes to event organization. So not a terrible trip, but disappointing.
We decided to drown our sorrows in some draft root beer and gourmet pizza at Brixx. This improved our mood and the day.
There was still grocery shopping to do ... but then my partner Doug spotted a new antique store near Wal-Mart. By new, it turns out they've only been there for 8 days. And this is where the day turned amazing. :D The place is called Captain Jack's Treasures. Imagine, if you will, a typical antique store, the size of a barn, crammed full of stuff, 90% of which is crud. Now throw out all the crud and cream off the top 10% into one largish room. That room is this store.
Chatty folks, too, the staff and customers alike, so plan to spend some time if you go there. You're not going to get in and out in 10 minutes. We did eventually get our groceries. Very eventually. I think we spent between half an hour and an hour in there.
The owner bills himself as a treasure hunter, and I agree. I've seen hundreds of antique stores, and the vast majority of them look like they were stocked by magpies. This one is different. It is very carefully curated by someone with an exceptional eye for quality. (They also stock some stuff from other vendors, including Timeless Treasures.) There were all sorts of items I recognize but almost never see anymore. Old tricycles and wagons. Depression-era glass and books. Crockery. Some truly splendid hardwood furniture. A wooden horse that may have come off a carousel or child's riding toy. A genuine cookstove with the lids on top that come off to expose the fire. And if they get a bargain, you get a bargain; there was a walnut-and-marble coffee table for $75, and a couple of art glass rolling pins that I'm pretty sure had more than their $45 price in raw materials alone. Prices actually ranged from very cheap -- the book I got was $4 -- on up to quite expensive for the really old and rare treasures. Granted, people like all different things, so there was a lot of stuff that didn't grab me -- but I can recognize good stuff even if I'm not into it personally. I didn't see the outright junk that clutters most antique stores. It was basically like a museum where you could buy all the stuff. So we came home with a book, a jello mold, and a set of mid-century burlap glasses. \o/
If you're within driving distance of Champaign-Urbana (the shop is actually in Savoy, which is adjacent to the south) and you're into antiques, this is totally worth the trip. Too far away? Look up Captain Jack's Treasures on eBay. That's mostly smaller items; you can see some of the larger ones on their Facebook page. This is what happens when someone with a pirate's eye for travel and treasure takes up a legitimate business. <3 It's adorable. It's like a little slice of Terramagne. Most highly recommended.
We decided to drown our sorrows in some draft root beer and gourmet pizza at Brixx. This improved our mood and the day.
There was still grocery shopping to do ... but then my partner Doug spotted a new antique store near Wal-Mart. By new, it turns out they've only been there for 8 days. And this is where the day turned amazing. :D The place is called Captain Jack's Treasures. Imagine, if you will, a typical antique store, the size of a barn, crammed full of stuff, 90% of which is crud. Now throw out all the crud and cream off the top 10% into one largish room. That room is this store.
Chatty folks, too, the staff and customers alike, so plan to spend some time if you go there. You're not going to get in and out in 10 minutes. We did eventually get our groceries. Very eventually. I think we spent between half an hour and an hour in there.
The owner bills himself as a treasure hunter, and I agree. I've seen hundreds of antique stores, and the vast majority of them look like they were stocked by magpies. This one is different. It is very carefully curated by someone with an exceptional eye for quality. (They also stock some stuff from other vendors, including Timeless Treasures.) There were all sorts of items I recognize but almost never see anymore. Old tricycles and wagons. Depression-era glass and books. Crockery. Some truly splendid hardwood furniture. A wooden horse that may have come off a carousel or child's riding toy. A genuine cookstove with the lids on top that come off to expose the fire. And if they get a bargain, you get a bargain; there was a walnut-and-marble coffee table for $75, and a couple of art glass rolling pins that I'm pretty sure had more than their $45 price in raw materials alone. Prices actually ranged from very cheap -- the book I got was $4 -- on up to quite expensive for the really old and rare treasures. Granted, people like all different things, so there was a lot of stuff that didn't grab me -- but I can recognize good stuff even if I'm not into it personally. I didn't see the outright junk that clutters most antique stores. It was basically like a museum where you could buy all the stuff. So we came home with a book, a jello mold, and a set of mid-century burlap glasses. \o/
If you're within driving distance of Champaign-Urbana (the shop is actually in Savoy, which is adjacent to the south) and you're into antiques, this is totally worth the trip. Too far away? Look up Captain Jack's Treasures on eBay. That's mostly smaller items; you can see some of the larger ones on their Facebook page. This is what happens when someone with a pirate's eye for travel and treasure takes up a legitimate business. <3 It's adorable. It's like a little slice of Terramagne. Most highly recommended.
Poem: "Grow into a Scary Place"
Oct. 8th, 2017 11:34 pmThis poem came out of the October 3, 2017 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from heartsinger. It also fills the "forced body modification" square in my 6-16-17 card for the ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
hc_bingo fest and the "creepy" square in my 10-1-17 card for the Fall Festival bingo. This poem has been sponsored by janetmiles. It belongs to the series Polychrome Heroics.
Warning: This poem contains some intense topics. Highlight to the read the warnings, some of which are spoilers. It includes extreme stress, innate and unwelcome body changes, reference to a past metabolic disorder, dysphoria, frustration, ineffective therapy, seeking a new therapist, talking about feelings, and other challenges. If these are sensitive issues for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before reading onward.
( Read more... )
heartsinger. It also fills the "forced body modification" square in my 6-16-17 card for the hc_bingo fest and the "creepy" square in my 10-1-17 card for the Fall Festival bingo. This poem has been sponsored by janetmiles. It belongs to the series Polychrome Heroics.Warning: This poem contains some intense topics. Highlight to the read the warnings, some of which are spoilers. It includes extreme stress, innate and unwelcome body changes, reference to a past metabolic disorder, dysphoria, frustration, ineffective therapy, seeking a new therapist, talking about feelings, and other challenges. If these are sensitive issues for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before reading onward.
( Read more... )