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It New Orleans, it would be called a "neutral ground" - the grassy strip between the one-way streets. There's no compact term for it here, so I guess we'd just have to call it the grassy strip between the one-way streets.
At any rate, this metal building has been there as long as I can remember, looking incrementally worse for wear each year. It looks like now the graffiti artists have even given up on it, which would be depressing for a building that was self-aware.
I don't know if this one is, though...
Lubbock, Texas
I have this interesting refrigerator magnet that is also a vase made from an old fence post. I've stuck a few springs of front-yard lavender in it.
Lubbock, Texas
For my faraway friends - and you know who you are - that doubt the existence of something called "frito pie," here's photographic proof.
Fritos, chopped brisket, beans, cheese, barbeque sauce, in case the above-referenced friends want to make some themselves. Although the frito pie purists might disagree, I supposed you could add sour cream, or relish, or jalapenos also.
Lubbock, Texas
This land used to have more than scruffy mesquite trees, as the ghost-ship of an abandonded cotton gin attests.State Highway 17, near Pecos, Texas
The swimming pool at Balmorhea State Park is crystal clear, cold, spring-fed, and feels so good when it's hot outside.
Balmorhea, Texas
The City Prosecutor and the Traffic Engineering departments share a building - the prosecutor got top billing.
Lubbock, Texas
Clouds late in the day, hovering over the southern horizon rarely mean rain for us. But, if we're lucky, when it gets dark we're treated to lightning.
Lubbock, Texas
My friend Martha gave me this excellent paperweight. It's glass, green that goes to purple at the edges. It's heavy, just heavy enough to feel good in my hand. It lives on the left side of my computer, and when I am have trouble getting just the right word or image, I'll cradle it in my hand.
Thanks, Martha!
Lubbock, Texas
(On the back it says "Robert Held Art Glass - Canada")
An interesting, and colorful, row of downtown storefronts.Lubbock, Texas
This is how you can tell if it's a REALLY fancy restaurant: you put the peanut shells into a bucket rather than on the floor.
Lubbock, Texas
Finally.
There are some residential areas downtown - this one is in an alley off Broadway.
Lubbock, Texas
The big liquor election is tomorrow. Maybe... maybe there are enough forward-looking voters that we can soon be treated like adults around here and be able to buy alcohol in town.
Lubbock, Texas
A couple of vintage (to use the currently-popular phrase) ceramic planters that live on top of a white metal cabinet in the bathroom.
Lubbock, Texas
Hannah is so used to having her picture taken (I don't know how that happened!) that she refers to all photographs as "hannahs" - and she really doesn't seem to have the slightest clue that there could possibly be such a thing as a "hannah" without her in it.
Lubbock, Texas
Inspired by a character in the Tom Robbins' novel Skinny Legs and All, I started a collection of random pieces of silverware. This forest of spoons is part of what I have accumulated.
Which character was the inspiration? Spoon, of course.
Read the novel if you want, but get ready for... well, get ready for a Tom Robbins novel. (Publishers Weekly called Skinny Legs and All "a phantasmagorical, politically charged tale." Sadly, they failed to mention my spoon collection in the review.)
Lubbock, Texas
That I took a photo of a restaurant sign around dinnertime today could lead to the conclusion that I (once again) opted out of cooking at home....
Lubbock, Texas
Abandoned and disintegrating farm buildings dot this part of the country. This one had an additional feature: an old storm cellar that was guarded by a green lizard.
Somewhere between Roscoe and Wastella, Texas
The lighting and a guitar at FUEL Coffee Ministries.
Llano, Texas
The "Where the Spirit Left" project loaded in the back of my car, and ready for the drive to Llano, Texas, tomorrow. The show will be at FUEL Coffee Ministries through May 23, so be sure and stop by if you're in Llano...
Lubbock, Texas
On a cool and misty morning - my last one in Minneapolis - I spotted this statue outside of the Westminster Presbyterian Church.
Minneapolis, Minnesota
The Forshay Tower, once the tallest building in Minneapolis, reflected in another building.
Minneapolis, Minnesota
The ceiling inside the Minneapolis convention center.
Minneapolis, Minnesota
I am not sure exactly what this building is, but something tells me it might have something to do with Target. Maybe.
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Interior stairwells at the main branch of the Minneapolis library. It was a gray day, yet the building still seemed flooded with natural light.
Minneapolis, Minnesota
The Minneapolis waterfront has remnants of flour mills - some are ruins, some are loft apartments, and one of them is a museum. Without even trying very hard, you can spend a morning looking around. And, you can even walk all the way across the Mississippi River on the old stone bridge.
Minneapolis, Minnesota
What a find: a Penzeys spice store! It was way better than a perfume counter: we could smell vanilla, smoked paprika, various kinds of peppercorns, and - of course - vindaloo seasoning.
Also, thanks to the owner and staff at Citizen Cafe for their excellent advice on what to see in Minneapolis and for a delicious lunch. Stop by if you are in the area - 2403 East 38th Street - and tell Michael, the chef and owner, that we said hello.
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Some afternoon, if you've run out of things to do, here's something fun: go to any art supply store (a REAL art supply store, I mean, and not somewhere like Michael's) and check out the artists' brushes.
Varsity Bookstore
Lubbock, Texas
A giant cupcake hovering over a vintage Airstream trailer can mean only one thing:
Must. Have. Chocolate.
Hey Cupcake
Austin, Texas
Signs of spring: a robin, some daffodils, an apricot tree in bloom, the first sprigs of Bermuda grass?
Nope. The One True Sign is this: mesquite trees starting to (finally) leaf out.
Yellowhouse Canyon, Texas
Ah... the famous 34th Street landmark: the Burrito Tower! In the late-afternoon sun, the orange paint on the concrete block walls gives off an enticing glow. Maybe I should stop in tomorrow for breakfast!
Lubbock, Texas
Don't report me to PETA: I am only reporting what I saw.
Lubbock County, Texas
This large pile of discarded metal things looms over the freeway access road. The pile never seems to change volume, though there seems to be some change in the specific items at the top.
(I have been accused of being too negative about the state of downtown Lubbock, so in deference to this criticism, I will refrain from noting that this pile-o-crap also looms over the central business district. So there.)
Lubbock, Texas
For some reason, I always want to roller skate along the top of this curvy roof.
Lubbock, Texas
I really like this loading dock, on Ave. F, facing the railroad. There are layers of paint on the bricks, overspray from something round.I drive by here nearly everyday and never see anyone painting, so I suppose it's done by the famous Stealth Painters of Lubbock.
Lubbock, Texas
Well, we know that whatever it is, it is to our left.
Buddy Holly Avenue
Lubbock, Texas
The grocery store has this nice outdoor area with shade and tables. And - this time of year - tumblweeds and trash that arrive almost daily.
Lubbock, Texas
Hey, if you need one of these, let me know. I know where you can find it.
Lubbock, Texas
What's left of the church, on the edge of what's left of the town.
Easter Sunday
Taiban, New Mexico
Bruce Cockburn's guitars.
KiMo Theater
Albuquerque, New Mexico
The cemetery surrounding the Rose of Lima Chapel has weathered the years much better than the church, which has no windows, no door, and no roof. Cactus and saplings are growing in what used to be the sanctuary.
This shot is taken looking straight up one of the window frames. The header is wired into the rock walls; the ends of the wires are visible in the photo.
A marker at the cemetery gate says the chapel was in use from the early 1800s until 1907.
Rose of Lima Chapel
Santa Rosa, New Mexico
I am fond of the way the first and last numerals look like they really belong on some other address.
Lubbock, Texas
Stein's is closed: much sadness has ensued.
Lubbock, Texas
The wind edited this sign to make an Important Announcement!
Lubbock, Texas
This pitchers are awful. They are chartreuse, for one thing. And they are ugly for another.
But on the other hand, it is just such awfulness that makes them fabulous!
Lubbock, Texas
About this time last year, on a day with winds of 50 mph, I came home from work to see this limb of the desert willow split so badly that I didn't think it was salvageable.
But look: one year and some wire tourniquets, and the tree survives.
Lubbock, Texas
The corner of a beautiful blown-glass bowl on my dining room table. Nathan and Kacee gave us the bowl for Christmas - he found it at the Modern Art Museum in Fort Worth.
Lubbock, Texas
The back of the reading lamp by the bed. I've heard that there are people who DON'T read in bed, but I just can't believe it!
Lubbock, Texas
This amazing cookbook was published in 1955 by the Carnation Company. Every single recipe includes carnation evaporated milk. Salad dressing. Fruit salad. Meat loaf.
This is the best information: "You can put double-rich Carnation in the cream pitcher and use it over cereal or fruit. Daddy will like Carnation for his coffee."
Don't be scared to come over for dinner: I rarely use any of the recipes....
Lubbock, Texas
For a while*, I was the proud owner of the largest collection of Pack Poodles on all of 92nd Street. Those were such happy times....* January 13, 1996, through approximately March 11, 1999
Lubbock, Texas
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