Ben’s Chili Bowl / Codmother
I’m in DC for the weekend before heading out to Tilghman for a few days. Last night Peter and I went over to U Street for some eats. I couldn’t be this close to Ben’s without stopping in for a Half Smoke. It was amazing.
Afterwards, he wanted to take me to Codmother for fish and chips. What a place. Great fish though.
As I was driving down of Friday and listening to BBC Radio 4, I heard this commentary by A.L. Kennedy and found it interesting. You can either read it here, or better yet listen to the podcast here. I found it very touching.
Tomato
This is the kind of thing that drives Cris a bit crazy. She finally insisted that I photograph this thing today and that I get it off the counter. Otherwise I would have let it go for a few more days. / She has been a vegetarian since college (her first BA at UC Chico) and has always said the one thing she missed was bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches. This past summer I spent a great weekend with my college pal Seth Tibbott and bunch of my other Wittenberg friends. Seth was always a bit of a wild man and after he graduated he moved to the Northwest and started Turtle Island Foods, makers of the famous Tofurky. He still runs the company and when we were together he gave me some coupons. They make a tempeh product that resembles bacon and I picked up some to see how it was. Well, it is great, and Cris is thrilled to be able to have tempeh, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches. So when I make them, there is usually some left-over tomato. I left this one on the counter overnight and by the next morning it started growing hair!
Well, hair like things with tiny black balls on the ends. I am quite good in keeping a tidy kitchen, but once in a while I do leave things out. I have seen a lot in my cooking life, but never anything like this. It certainly isn’t mold, but what in the wide wide world of sports is it?
Sunday Evening
I made this corn chowder recipe tonight. Perfect for a cold Sunday. I always buy extra ears of sweet corn during the summer and freeze what we don’t eat for days like this. Very nice; give it a try sometime.
One of the great things about the suitcases project is hearing from people who find other work that is related to institutionalization. Charlie Seton sent me this link today. What an interesting project. Thanks Charlie. And my great buddy Hank who has been following the suitcases from the beginning sent this link about Letchworth Village in Rockland County. It is interesting to me that surnames are used on the commemorative plaque.
I know some of you know a lot about plants. I started seeing these guys in the early Autumn. I don’t think they are plants that lost their leaves; I am quite sure that this is the whole deal.
And I have discovered some new trails above the house. Before the snow last week I saw a few of these evergreen-like plants that I have never seen before. If any of you can help identify them, I would love to know.
Sorry the top is out of focus. I only had my phone with me and as this little guy was only a few inches long, there wasn’t much depth of field.
Wishing you all a great week, my dear online friends.
Potato Leek Soup
Nice farmer’s market today. Looks like a potato leek soup is in the offing. / The almond croissants at Amherst Coffee are amazing.
That Thing Again (with Manner)
So odd. I picked up four of these Manner wafers in the grocery store, put them in the cart and this one fell out of the kiddie seat onto the floor. I had left my camera in the car so I shot this with my phone. Two days in a row; something in the air.
Tilghman(‘s) Island/DuPont Circle
I have spent the last two days on Tilghman Island shooting more artifacts and a bunch of really interesting artwork. It is a remarkable place, and I just love working there. The above shot is a detail from a very old linen map of oyster beds near the island. It was literally falling apart but is an amazing remnant of work life on the bay.
After 6 months of really hard work, it looks like Peter has found a job. It will be a few weeks before he starts, but we are so happy for him. I took a quick shower after the drive back to DC from Tilghman’s and we went right out to buy him some work clothes. There is a GAP practically next to Nando’s so we ate some chicken and then went to Larry’s for ice cream. It is a wonderful place on Connecticut Avenue. I had lavender, which was probably the most interesting flavor I’ve had in years.
Home tomorrow.
Peta Pixel/Peabody Essex Museum/Farnham’s
There was a very nice mention of the suitcases project on PetaPixel yesterday. Thanks DL Cade!
Cristine, our friend Kate, and I drove to Salem today to see the J M W Turner exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum. It is amazing and worth the trip. No photos allowed in the gallery, but it is a very cool museum. Note the early Airstream trailer (lower right) that is part of the mid century LA exhibit.
We then drove up to Essex to eat some clams at Farnham’s. For those of you who follow this site, I have posted about this place before.
The upcoming 10 days are going to be very hectic for me, so please be patient if I don’t respond directly to email. I’ll do my best.
That Thing Again (with cheese)
I was cutting up some Gruyere cheese tonight for onion soup. Whenever I take off the rind, I can’t bear to throw away any of the good bits that are close to it, so I use the knife to cut as near to the edge as I can. One of the small pieces fell onto the cutting board and stayed like this. I have written before about things landing on the narrow end and remaining upright. This just seems so lame to post about, but I still find it interesting and cheering. Read about it here, here, and here. (Or not; sometimes I can’t imagine anyone else being interested in the stuff that I find amusing.) Anyway, hope you all have a great week. And thanks for all the Kickstarter support. I am really blown away by it.
Recently
Sometimes I get a bit frustrated when I don’t post here as soon as I have some interesting (to me) photographs. / We were up in Maine for Thanksgiving at my brother and sister-in-law’s house. They live near to Higgins Beach in Scarborough, ME and on Thursday the ocean was really kickin’. I went for three separate walks to the beach the next day and each one was interesting in its own way. The surf was up (especially by East Coast standards) and at one point there were at least 40 surfers out.
On the morning walk I noticed that tons of sea creatures were washed way up on the beach, including this guy. Very alive and, I hope, happy to be put back into the ocean. Would have made a nice little lunch though.
On our way home on Saturday, I finally stopped to take a shot of this structure on Route 1 in Scarborough. I liked the light, and it is nice to see how helpful the owners are in identifying just what this thing is.
Further (farther?) down Route 1 is Bob’s Clam Hut in Kittery and since Peter was with us it seemed a nice time to stop in for a bite. As usual, amazing fried clams.
Next stop was in Boston for our annual walk around the outside of Fenway Park. So sweet to have the 2013 World Series banner hanging.
And I have always liked this statue, especially Dom DiMaggio’s specs. / We ended the Boston leg of the trip with a stop at the Blue Ribbon. For Peter, this day was a triple play; clams, Fenway, and Blue Ribbon. He was a very happy boy.
And finally, there is this. Image-wise it is kind of an orphan here, but I love the floating cone in the middle. I spotted this on a walk with Pete yesterday afternoon. / I take him to the train in New Haven tomorrow, and as usual, it will be difficult to say goodbye. Cris and I have had so much fun being with him for the past few weeks.
DC Again
Cris and I are in DC for the long weekend visiting Peter. We have been walking quite a lot and eating well. Today was a visit to Tortilla Cafe near Eastern Market which was amazing and cheap. / I haven’t been inspired to shoot much, but the light was nice today and it is pleasant to see roses still blooming in October.
It is odd to see the public parts of the federal government closed up (not that you could get up these steps when there is no government shut-down). I used to spend quite a bit of time shooting here, and for a time anyone could walk right up to the top. Times change; what can you do?
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
leave a comment