my beloved beet avatar

my beloved beet

about town

Betty’s

Auto-generated description: A vintage diner called Betty's Shack displays retro Coca-Cola signage at night.
Betty’s Shack, Dallas TX, c.1940, Hayes Collection, Accession Number: PA76-1/20361.1, Dallas History & Archives Division, Dallas Public Library.

Hell Weed

Smilax (or bindweed or greenbrier, among many other names). It covers everything, and its roots reach down to hell. But, once a year for about a week, it puts out pretty purple flowers. So it’s got that going for it. Which is nice.

Purple flowers are abundantly growing among green leafy vines
Una Escaramuza - Mothered by Aunts and Horses

Charra en un caballo. Photo credit: Constance Jaeggi

Photo: Constance Jaeggi (a tip of the Hatlo Hat to @ayjay)

Grateful

Dallas got hit by 80 mph winds yesterday. Not surprisingly, lots of homes, ~630,000, lost power, ours included. But almost exactly 12 hours later, our lights were back on. I think that’s an impressive response. Thank you to the men and women who did that!

Things I Really Like: an Ongoing List

  • Birdsong
  • Tottenham Hotspur Football Club
  • Archie
  • Tamales
  • Black licorice
  • Woodsmoke
  • Good Table Talk (more often, actually, Bar Talk)
  • a Ploughman's Lunch in a pub's garden
  • a 5:1 Martini, with a dash of orange bitters and 3 olives
  • Wind Chimes
  • Telephone calls with my out-of-town kids
  • Tacos with my in-town kid (and kid-in-law)
  • Resident Taqueria
  • Heat
  • Daffodils
  • Steel-cut oatmeal and a soft-boiled egg
from The Great Good Place by Ray Oldenburg /
... the third place tavern combines drinking with conversation such that each improves the other. The talking/drinking synergism is basic to the pub, tavern, taverna, bistro, saloon, estaminet, osteria -- whatever it is called and wherever it is found... [J]ust as conversation is enhanced by the temperate use of alcohol, the artful and witty game of conversation moderates consumption of liquor. As Tibor Scitovsky remarked with respect to those who know how to use a public drinking facility, "a half-pint of beer is to talk as bed is to making love -- one can do without, but does better with.”