Public Displays of Art and Random Living

our local grafitti artist "done" has taken our brand new overpass on 6th ave and turned it into a room of his own. we only had one box of chalk and a few hours to cosmetically enhance done's work- so we just tackled the first four pillars. that's shawn and silas sitting next to the sadness that is "done." some people are crazy enough to sign onto my harebrained ideas.



here's jon, and the four pillars. this view is looking up 6th where it hooks up with hall of fame drive. (jon blogs at www.codename646.blogspot.com and tweets @codename)



the laughing buddha was the first one finished... i promise he's laughing. some of the reactions:
- i thought i caught 'em! --cliff, concerned city worker, keeping watchout for "done"
- that's not YOUR property! -- really uptight kids, riding in the back of a car
- brandy!! that's my lawyer!! -- india, a client
- what would you charge to paint a bedroom? -- random lady whose kids need a mural
- thank you! and wow that looks better. -- knoxville police department
- that's tight. -- some thuggish kid who took our pic



what does all this randomness do to my son? he seems to enjoy it.



finito! jon surveys the work. compare with the top pic- the chalk covered so much better than we expected-- we WILL be doing this again.

Better Than Hollow Chocolate Bunnies

today, i donned my best "if you can't afford the lawyer you love, then love the lawyer you can afford" tee and 10g earrings (i've had them out too long, owweeee), and headed for the co-op in maryville (where i fit in nicely). asking for silas' easter gift, they crammed four new hatchlings in a tiny box and handed them over. (believe it or not, chicks are in high demand right now, and they're selling like hotcakes. between me calling and arriving at the store, most of these had been sold. there was a crowd of chilluns around them... none of the easter dyed pinkbluegreen ones though. it was really difficult to find female chicks without ordering them through the mail...)

comic relief in cardboard. now, in the form of sheen, redbeak, whiteface, and mowgli. silas has giggled as much as they've chirped.

i keep catching silas kissing them. i have no idea whether they can survive his love. (especially since he keeps saying' "watch, i can make them dance" while he jiggles them up and down and slaps their feet against the table. they're either gonna be really tame or really dead.)



they have moved from a teeny cardboard box to a larger rubbermaid home with butterbowl lids to make it homey for the eats- that should last about three days. you can see sheen (what's with these names? sheen is jimmy neutron's best friend, i guess), top, strutting her stuff and chirping her brains out.



they are wyandottes, and when grown, should give us an egg a day, each. that's enough for us and the neighbors. i really hope they make it to the backyard.




i love them too. just gently.

Sprout!

Wendy gifted Silas with a bean sprout lesson- and he LOVED it. He has been popping these things like raisins for the last two days... and they're soooooo good for him!




So, she gave him a jar, an inch or two of lentils, and card with directions. We soaked the beans overnight, poured off the water, then just allowed them to sit in the jar (rinsing twice a day). Within three days they looked like above and had more than doubled in bulk. There is no trace of the flavor of the bean once it has sprouted. Just green green yummy green.

After they reached the length we wanted, we put them in the sun to green up. Then off to the fridge. It was so interesting and fast enough that he didn't lose interest. As a matter of fact, we're doing soybeans next! (just went to the co-op today).




I can't wait to get him in the garden. Why does growing it yourself make it so much more edible? Especially to him? If I had bought these sprouts, he would turn his nose up at them- and now they're candy. hmmmm.... must put this knowledge to good use...

And now I understand why the birds keep tackling (read: destroying) my newly sprouted lettuces and spinach