Andy’s ghost.

Last weekend there was a gallery stroll with the highlight being the Contemporary Gallery’s opening of Andy Warhol’s Silver Clouds. Enjoyed by children young and old alike. There was some specualation amongst the younger crowd as to whether Andy would actually make an appearance. I think he was there. And I think he smiled.

Mind yer own knittin’!

So Lexie’s recently taught me to knit, and I’ve gotten rather obsessed with it. Not sure I’ll ever be good enough, or dedicated enough to knit anybody a sweater, but I’m working on my third scarf, and Lexie just made herself a fine hat.

If you are a knitter and ever find yourself in Evansville, we really love our local knitting shop KnitWitts. They are lovely helpful people, have all kinds of beautiful stuff, and as a bonus have two adopted dogs (a Beggar and a Napper) and a sweet little Boston terrier that I enjoy visiting with.

My first satisfied client (other than myself of course) is Ms. Shecky Green Clayton, pictured at bottom, enjoying her new scarf. Being an old-ish bear with quite a thin neck, Shecky is quite happy with the fine craftmanship of the new scarf.

Public transport.

Mostly biking and walking. Mickey has this great old beater that’s kind of space age-y (photo of its fine space-age rack below). I got a beautiful black cruiser from East Side Cycles before i left Nashville, modeled after the standard-issue Dutch bike. I love it. It’s shown here parked outside one of its favorite destinations, Laura’s coffehouse.

There’s no home delivery of mail here, so the post office is another daily destination. Always nice to run into neighbors and have a chat with Cece, the post office lady. Never the old Acklen Station lines out the door to pick something up. Although, by golly, I do miss Hillsboro Village and all my old crew at Fido...

Oh, I almost forgot...the golf carts. Several hundred of them in town. Why crank up a car to go somewhere that’sonly 5 blocks away?

Buildings.

Of course there’s Richard Meier’s Atheneum, one of the AIA’s top 150 buildings, there’s Philip Johnson’s Roofless Church, but one of the most vital buildings in town, the place where life is lived, decisions get made, and coffee gets drunk, is Laura Hudgins’ Church Street Coffee House. Then there are the historic buildings and the lovely Victorian downtown. The brick building with the clock tower is the old Ribeyre Gymnasium, which was in the film A League of Their Own, which was shot here and in Evansville. The old German clapboard church is a block away from us, and someone lives in it. The building with the arched window has the Maxmilian-Bodmer collection on the ground floors and our friend architect Ben Nicholson’s office upstairs. And wandering around always brings pleasant surprises. Of course it didn’t occur to me—until after I originally posted this—that the cute little building about 9 down (out back of the historic Fauntleroy House) was actually a 3-hole privy.

Trees and leaves.

Henny-Penny, the Fall is skying!

OK, I’ve never been much of a nature photographer. There are so many people doing it. Millions of amateurs and hundreds of professionals. It’s been done. To death.

BUT...something about being in a new place...seeing things with new eyes...I’ve been really smitten by the outdoors. Not the camping, wiping your bottom with a leaf, eaten alive by bugs outdoors. More the walking about, then going home for a seat and a cup of tea outdoors.

So here are leaves, trees, that kind of thing. There are so many incredibly beautiful old trees here. The farm country has its natural seasons and also the added element of growing and harvesting that adds a whole new man-made aspect to the landscape. I’m sure it’s nothing new to a Midwestern native type, but it’s fascinating to me...