Wishes for the city

oh, how I would love, love, love something like this. It literally makes me ache with longing.



I love the idea of cities creating space, right in the center, for pedestrians and unmotorized life. More interested in beauty and well being than getting folks in cars from point A to point B.

I am hopeful for Birmingham.

This is suicide

Some friends of mine being bad-ass.

I love the cycling 'scene' in Birmingham. These guys are making riding cool again, which I am hoping encourages more folks to take to two wheels (gears or fixed).


Sunday Night Sprints from Velo Ghosts on Vimeo.

video by Veloghost

Weekend round-up

Here it is Sunday night, the end of another Spring weekend. I love Spring, but I am always so afraid of it's departure. One day soon I will wake up and it will be full on Summer. I am not looking forward to that. I love living with the windows open (i haven't closed them in a little over a month) and the doors open and cool nights and chilly mornings and warm days and new flowers. sigh.

ANYWAY, back to my weekend...

Friday I came home from an exhaustingly busy work week and baked a peach Tart (more on that in another post). I am not a baker, but am determined to bake something new every week. The Tart was a success. It was sweet and tart and soft and warm...like any good tart is. Friends and I devoured it in one night amidst laughter and silliness.


Saturday, I started at Urban Standard with Carrie and John, followed by Pepper Place. There I procured radishes, peaches, goat cheese, eggs and an alien looking vegetable called a kohlrabi. I love going there and talking to the farmers and sampling the honey and cheese and asking them about their farms. It feels very communal and connected. I also took a bunch of photos (many people asked me if I was a photographer with my fancy new camera!). Had lunch outside with a friend which was surprisingly delightful, to catch up and talk about life.


After all of that, I thought a nap was in my future. However, an idea had popped into my head that simply begged to be listened to. So, I called Jenn and she agreed that it must be done. So, we packed a little picnic of red wine (in a Nalgene bottle!), plastic cups, hard boiled eggs, water and books...and headed to the botanical gardens. After I took about 100 photos of the rose garden, we found a little place where we could read and hang out, quietly drinking wine that is strictly forbidden there. It was lovely. People kept coming by and asking if we were students, to which I replied "No, but thank you for asking!". It was really fun. I took a little nap in the sun and we saw some lizards and birds.




A good day.

Sunday I slept late, cooked breakfast and chilled. Some friends stopped by and we talked about food and farms and gardens, topics I never tire of. I decided to go back to the Gardens, not realizing that it was apparently "bring your bride and photographer day". There were 2 weddings, 2 brides walking around having their pictures taken and a perfect looking couple about 5 feet from my favorite swing taking engagement pictures. it was sad, but did not bother me nearly as much as it would have a month ago. Progress, slow and steady. It was actually a very enjoyable afternoon spent on a secluded little swing, reading.
I left there for church. Tonight in my little church we welcomed new members, baptized a beautiful boy and prayed for a former Pastor. It was, to me, a striking picture of the Gospel. Hope and brokenness, all mixed up together.
Tonight i made some yummy hummus and now am going to drift off to sleep.

I hope each of you is enjoying the Spring.


This is a kolhrabi! crazy looking, huh?

Whole Trends

There is a movement that is growing rapidly, perhaps you have seen or heard about it. It is called many things; "Green", "Localvore", "Slow Foods"....you know, Michael Pollan and Barbara Kingsolver and CSA's and growing your own food, etc. An argument I have heard often against this is: It's so trendy. People are only into it because it's cool.

My response-So what?

If it is cool to eat well and support local economy and wonder where your lettuce comes from, well, I don't have a problem with that. Sure, the name Michael Pollan is thrown around...and the word "organic" has been raped of it's original meaning. I know that there is also a growing trend of Industrial Organic farming (meaning feed lots and no grazing, but 'organic' feed and grains) and that Whole Foods gets the majority of it's food from a few huge farms, but I am still hopeful. I think that the reason this trend has caught on is that it is what our society is longing for. It feels good, it connects us to things bigger than us (that does not have a CEO).


It is bigger, yet smaller. The world is huge now, much too big for me to grasp. Aren't we made for community? I see so much community in talking to a farmer about his land as you buy eggs and radishes from him. Seeing their children, the ones they are supporting with the vegetables that they refuse to poison on the land that they don't want to sell to an Industrial Farm. Knowing that the peaches you eat are grown just a few miles from your house and the honey you put on your toast is from a hive that has not been lost in Alabama. Sure, that means that I haven't had grapes in a while, and I do miss that. But I will not be eating a tasteless peach or homogenized honey.

This is not to say that I am against eating all things not grown here. I do it all the time. However, each time I shop, I think about my food and my body. I wonder how tasty a tomato that is just now ripe in the stores, clearly picked weeks ago and ripened in a truck is going to be. I normally pass it up. There are some (many) things that are not produced here, and I am thankful that I am able to get them if I so desire (coffee!).

Here is my point (and I do have one)-If everyone who is following this 'hip new food trend' wondered about their food, a difference would be made. I believe in grass roots movements and small change. I believe that my shopping trends and eating trends have an impact. I believe that our families will be healthier and our children more respectful of their food and community. I believe it is better for my health (both body and mind) to eat good, wholesome food that I or someone in my community has grown. I know that homemade stock if better than store bought, sue me.




In the words of a good friend: F*@k cornsyrup.

Reality Bites

Apparently, I have developed a case of adult onset acne. WTF!

Between this and the toll that gravity is taking...well, it's not good.

No picture today because, obviously, I don't want anyone to see this monstrosity.

Also, did anyone see where Larry Langford wants the schools to pay to repair their own sidewalks so that the money he appropriated to it can go to something more worthwhile...the olympic village in Fairfield.

"Tensions between the city and the school board reached a peak this week when the City Council took $7.9 million previously committed for sidewalks and other improvements at schools and applied it to the redevelopment of Fair Park. "

full article here.

So what does Larry plan to do to ease the tensions....GRITS!! (and coffee and eggs and sausage). Apparently, this will do the trick. Says Larry "I'm going to take them all to breakfast and sit down and just talk about the direction in which the city is going and how it's important that the school system and the city be on the same page," he said. "Someone is going to have to push it forward. I will try again."

how noble. and Giving. That Larry is such a team player.

Redemption

This was to be my wedding day. It was a lovely day with friends who celebrated life with me.

Beauty in the ruins.

Alabama the Beautiful

I don't know how much longer I will stay in Alabama. I have a year long lease, so at least another 11 months, but after that...who knows where God and my life will take me?

Because of this, I have vowed to take the next 11 months to see Alabama. Do Alabama. I am going to treat our lovely state as though I were a tourist. I don't want to leave (IF) and miss out on all of the wonderful events and places and foods and people of the place I have called home for the past 5 years.

I started today. CJ and I started out about 9am. We drove to York to see The Coleman Center for the Art, a small gallery smack in the middle of a little town (run by 2 people whose last name is Munoz!!). Alas, there was no exhibit, so we peaked into the window and explored York. Did you know that there is a Progressive Childrens College of Common Sense? According to this article, it is "which will serve as a launching pad for a preschool education program". That is one hell of a name!

Downtown York (also see the above article) is lovely, with everything from a beautiful basket weaving shop, stained glass and mosiac studio to a store called "the Watch ma call it" shop, where CJ spotted 'Nsync dolls, right next to vintage vases. We also spotted what we think is a bike shop, and a blues bar in the midst of renovation. Took some great pictures of bldgs and the train (which I considered jumping on and seeing where I end up...). all in all, a cool little place that I would never have seen but am glad that I did.

By the way, York is called "The City on the Move.".

Back in the car to drive another hour through small towns and past farms and cottages and struggling communities to Faunsdale...for a Crawfish boil! I grew up on Crawfish, and eating them is comfort food for me. We hunkered down on overturned milk crates and ate etouffe, boiled crawfish and beer. Wandered, listened to conversations as well as BAD country music (has it gotten worse lately?...it was gross). Then we did what probably looked funny to everyone there. We pulled out books, found a shady shop a bit hidden away took off our shoes (I had another fire ant incident, so was itching and stinging like crazy. sigh.) and read. We had our beer, we were reading books and we were happy. It was great. Stayed for a few hours and hopped back into the car home. We both lament the fact that they had not set up the mechanical bull yet, we had dressed accordingly!

On the way home, CJ introduced me to Northport and we stopped in the Kentuck studio and perused the wares. I am learning the the art community in Alabama is large and varied, but a small, interconnected community. Very cool. The drive home was stunning, with small farms and cows lounging all around us. The interstate was flanked on both sides by a lovely rose colored plant. I came home exhausted but happy.

First day of Year of Tourism: successful. Tomorrow: Old 280 boogie in Waverly, AL. This is year 2 for me and I LOVE this festival. Waverly is a cool town with great people and a kick ass festival. Check out Standard Deluxe print shop and eat at The Yellow Hammer. A 2 hour drive that is well worth the drive.

So here we go. I have some places in my mind (Rural Studio, Tannehill, Kentuck festival, Black Warrior River, Ava Maria Grotto, etc, etc), but I clearly do not know all the secrets that Alabama has to hold.

Are there places you want to go? Somewhere you have been or heard of? Somewhere that I simply must go? Please tell me! I will probably be chronicling my trips and experiences here. I know that I will not get to them all, but I am sure going to try.

This keeps popping to my head as I write this,
"If you can't be with the one you love, honey, love the one your with."

Dirt manicures preferred

I have been spending my lunch break reading Farmgirl Fare, a blog that chronicles a 26 year old (then married) woman's journey from urban Cali to a huge farm in Missouri. See also Writings from Woodridge Farm, the newsletters from the very beginning.

I want to follow her. My coworkers make fun of me because I want a goat and 2 chickens. Really badly. My back porch has no room for a table with all of the pots of vegetables growing. My Dad laughed when he saw the tray of seedlings growing on top of my washer (hey, it's warm there!).

As I consider the Great Wide Open and where life may take me (both physically and emotionally) in the days and years to come, I am starting to wonder if I need to go where the Buffalo Roam (or the Lemon trees grow...whatev). Can I do both...urban and country? do I want to?

I don't know where God is leading me, but it seems that it is somewhere where the air is clean and people don't scoff at bike commuting and maybe, just maybe, a chicken coop in the backyard is ok.

I need a little place in the sun sometimes

A visual of my little garden stoop:




Come summer, I will have so many tomatoes, greens, lemons and beans that I may set up a stand on the side of the road. Or invite friends over to share in my bounty, eating tomatoes over bread, drizzled with olive oil and fresh basil. Beans steamed immediately off the vine, with a dash of fresh lemon vinaigrette and accompanied by a glass of wine and conversation. Dessert of sweet strawberries and whipped cream. A taste of heaven. A respite from the brokenness of this life.

Lovely

Weeds sprout through, dark green enough to be blue

Random thoughts on a sleepy night.
I should be at The Spots show. I have been looking forward to it for a long time. Yet, here I am, in my PJs in front of my computer. Many reasons for this. I am exhausted (today was the first 'this is what your job is going to look like after the downsizing', and it is busy). I also attended a wedding today! My dear friend Wesley was married to Deanna today on St. Patricks day, which we lovingly refer to as "Wesley's Valentines Day". It was lovely. Only about 25 of us and Wes, in his green shirt and tie, smiling like a Cheshire cat and Deanna giggling and looking beautiful. It was not as hard as I imagined a wedding would be, but it wasn't easy. I kept thinking things like "Oh, that is what I was planning" and "I want this".
The Spots were the band that I was planning on having play at my wedding. I didn't realize how that affected my decision not to go until now, as I sit here with tears streaming down my face. Not necessarily bad tears, just tears of loss. They are much less frequent, but still there. sigh. I plan to make it to their next show, as they are my favorite live show. Fantastic and fun and intimate, no matter how many people are in the room. They create a great vibe. It was probably just the vibe I need tonight! ;)

On another note, check out this blog: Spitball Army. CJ introduced me to it after he wrote a post about Bicycling. I am hooked. It is funny and smart and intelligent (those are two different things) and very sharp. Also quite informative. You can tell that he is interested in a lot and appreciates many things. Not to mention that he is now (along with BTM and JN and CJ) one of the people I want standing next to me as I buy a new cd. His love and knowledge of music is contagious and oozes out of most everything he writes. Go there. Now. Don't even finish this post...it is just as rambly as the last 50!

I have noticed that I have visitors from all over the country looking at the blog. That is strange to me. Do I know you? How do you find this? I guess the same way that I find random blogs...it is different when it is just my little blog.

I am in the midst of an apartment overhaul. This is all an attempt to create a sense of home here. I realized last week that this is the only apartment that I have ever had that did not have a boy attached to it somehow. This one is all me. I like that. No one to consider when decorating, no memories attached to painting, or hanging drapes. Only the memories of my community coming together to get me settled in my new home when nothing else was settled. Truly. Anna organized the kitchen, David and John hung pictures, Chris hung my drapes, CJ helped me decide if the color organized bookshelves were a good idea, Carrie helped me throw away spoons that needed to be tossed (long story). Everyone helped me with trucks and muscles with all 3 of my moves (3!). Now it is me and I am really starting to like it. i love that my kitchen has a back door, so everyday I cook with the door open and a neighborhood cat, Rascal, comes and sits on the patio and lounges in the sun. 2 dogs come by every day to sniff what is cookin. I have a compost pile and 2 garden that are open canvases for my imagination. This is home and I like it. Despite the circumstances that brought me here, I like it. One day I really think I will love it.

Weekend round-up

This weekend was more social than most. It felt like my 'coming back into the real world' weekend, which was nice though daunting. Here is the run down:
Friday: work 1/2 day, in jeans. Pissed off at the impending weather doom. After work, made some killer guac. and headed to Susan's house with CJ for some catching up. Laughed so hard that I cried. We joked, mourned, celebrated, ate good food, drank good drinks. It was so refreshing. That is the way I would describe Su...refreshing. I could tell dirty jokes about ex boyfriends and politicians and we would just laugh, laugh, laugh. Loved it.

Saturday: Brunch with friends that was a bit of a friend set up. Walked around Naked Art, admiring the great local art and reminiscing about when it was Zoeys, and VRichards was too small to seat everyone (I miss it). Then I went and illegally printed some Screenplays from a library. I am not going to say much, except that we got busted and I still got the print-outs and saved the day. I am such a bad ass! Like Uma Thurman, without the killing and the Quentin Tarantino dialogue.
Speaking of dialogue, next month starts Script Frenzy, the month long insanity of writing a full length screenplay in 30 days. I participated last year with friends and this year am the leader of the Birmingham Region. It was such a fun event and I highly recommend it to everyone. It is just 30 days of free flowing ideas and typing any bad idea that comes to mind. No editing, just writing. It is a rush and I rediscovered my love of writing from it. I actually went on to enter a contest, which I placed 4th in (a big deal for a beginner). If you are interested, check out the link and get in touch with me. You won't regret it. More posts to come on it. ANYWAY, I also read some scripts this weekend.

Saturday night I went with CJ to the Magic City Art Connection benefit soiree. What a scene. The Birmingham paparazzi was out in full force, as were everyone who wanted to see and be seen. We mingled, had our pictures taken, drank some free beer and hit the road...to the Speakeasy to see Vulture Whale. What a fun band of nice guys who make kick ass music. Check em out. Always enjoy their shows. Also played some rousing games of Foosball, which created a bit of a crowd (people seem to love dressed up girls drinking beer and yelling at the table,not to mention talking complete smack to each other!). Stayed and saw a few songs by Tiger Piss...an, um, interesting band. Got home late, smelling like smoke.
this was a crowd of people that I had not seen in about 2 months, and I was very nervous. It was great. I went with a safe friend, and eased into the social scene. I don't think that I will be back in full force, but occasionally it is nice.

Sunday, I did what is becoming routine. Sleep late, then bike to Starbucks to read and hang out. Got a call that I am getting an antique dresser, chest and new Queen sized bed this week...as a gift! Yea! I am trying to make my apt homey, especially my bedroom...this is going to do wonders for that. Am so very, very excited. A nice end to a nice weekend.
Well, I have another script to read and some dishes to do. This time change thing is messing me up, but I love it! Daylight at 6:35!!
Have a good week.

Comfortably Numb

I have settled into a little routine lately that seems to be helping me survive and maybe, just maybe, enjoy things a bit. I have always been a bit of a routine person (hello, OCD), but my life has been such that a routine never really works. Unless you count drama and chaos as a routine (in which case I am very practiced!). Even growing up I did not have much sameness. We moved a lot, my mother worked retail and my dad changed jobs pretty often. I cannot tell you how many houses I lived in growing up. To some extent I enjoy this fact…I can adjust to change, make friends easily, etc.

College was always a move, a boy, a changed major, working, classes, partying (something I learned well from my folks). Never a routine. I know people who have always had Red Beans and Rice on Mondays, without fail. Or who spend every Sunday morning with their coffee and a book. I have never been that person…until now. ( This is where I originally planned to post my routine, but it was long and probably boring. I may post it later, as this blog has become like the journal I don’t keep that I like to look back on. ) Suffice it to say, my day includes coffee, praying, working, reading, cooking, gardening, cleaning. Occasional walks or bike rides. Everyday, although a bit different, has the same structure to it. It is quiet and safe and comfortable and sometimes even calming.

I do often have friends over or do something fun, but the routine just shifts a bit. I know what my days will look like and that is safe and nice. Safe has become my mantra, my thing. Who knows how long this will stay for. I am not particularly enjoying anything, but am settling in to my life as it is now. Not happy, but not as gut-wrenchingly sad as much. Those days seem to be lessening. Not gone, but not as life defining. I look forward to longer days, more sun, more mojitos and guacamole, more fresh veggies and relaxing company. I am hopeful for spring, hopeful for change, hopeful for hope. What else is there besides Hope? That's the thing.

Mark your Calendars

I am having a book swap! I have WAY too many books that I get from work, both childrens and adult...so time to share. I am not vouching for the literary wonderfullness of any, but they are free. If you have any books or cd's you are ready to part with, bring 'em by. I plan to do this fairly regularly. I figure it is also a good way for us 'bloggy friends' to hang out. Bring your non-blogging friends as well (if there are any out there...). Please come even if you have no books to swap...you can pick some up and then swap them next time.

Saturday March 15 11-3 Open house style. I will be hangin' out, probably reading or getting my hands dirty outside.
Come on by. Stay for 10 minutes, stay for all 4 hours. If you get there early enough there may be snacks!
You can admire my tiny garden, drink some beer...talk books, whatever. Kids are welcome, as I have a big grassy area out back for running and playing. Adults are encouraged to run and play as well.

I am not going to include my address, but most of you know how to get in touch with me. Or know someone who does. Directions will make their way around, I am sure of it.

See you then! More reminders to come!

Bonjour!

This is from Stuff white people like (you can find the link on the side of my blog):

But there is a special category of bicycles that appeal far more to white women, the European city bike (pictured). White women have a lot of fantasies about idealized lives, and one of them is living in Europe and riding around an old city on one of these bikes. They dream about waking up and riding to a little cafe, then visiting bakeries and cheese shops and finally riding home to prepare a fancy meal for their friends who will all eat under a canopy with white Christmas lights. This information can be used to help gain the trust/admiration of a white woman, especially if you can pull off a lie about how your mother told you about how she used to do all of these things when she was younger.

And of course, it goes without saying that white people who ride bikes like to talk about how they are saving the earth. If you know a person who rides to work, you should take them aside and say “Hey, thanks. Sincerely, The Earth.” Then give a thumbs up. That white person will ride home on a cloud.

Yep, that first paragraph is me. This is what i dream of, what I want. Guess I am a white person.
And the second paragraph is just hilarious. Especially since I have plans to ride to work in about a month (hills there and back...must train a bit)!

The weather is supposed to be nice this weekend so I am hoping to take a ride, maybe visit the Botanical Gardens, maybe just sleep. I finally got everything moved out of the apartment where Scott was living (Thanks to my Wonderful CG...they packed and moved me and unpacked me and hung drapes and pictures...truly a gift), so this weekend actually feels free. That is nice.

Because the water is healthy for the roses in your cheeks

I am thinking about getting a community garden plot in downtown Birmingham. They are run by Jones Valley Urban Farm. Lately, all I can think about is gardening and getting soil under my nails and eating fresh produce.
Now, I have never been a gardener, but I figure now is the time to start! Perhaps, get a friend involved and we can share the plot (it is 50 feet!). Do I have the time to spend? Who knows?! Can I make the time...yep. I really think that I can. It is going to be hard and backbreaking, but I the thought is hopeful and exciting.

Thoughts? has anyone done anything like this before?

I will let you know what I decide. Right now I am letting it marinate...


I want to smell fresh soil and cut grass, sweat mingled with earth. I want to wear a bandanna and torn jeans and use a spade and shovel. Beautifully calloused fingers and dusty shoes. I want it all.


Gosh, I hope they have some available. Are there any other community gardens in Birmingham?

*UPDATE: No plots available at Jones Valley and all of the other organizations that had community gardens have shut down i.e BUGS. So, it looks like I may have to garden in the patch of grass that comes with my apartment. I am looking at building a raised garden bed, so if anyone has any scrap wood to donate, that would be great! Or any skills in helping me know what the heck I am doing!!*

Weekend round-up

I just finished my first entire weekend in my new home. It was unexpectedly lovely, for so many reasons. Here is a run down (because I am sure you are just dying to know my weekend details...)

Friday night I said goodbye to Angelica, an unexpected friend from China. She is so brave and fun. She also dresses like Slash sometimes! I also had refreshing, authentic conversations with RMC friends. Went home and went to bed early.

Saturday I started the day with a coffee cupping at Primavera with C.J, a friend who went from a blogger friend to a 'real' friend. I had the best Mocha that I have found in town so far (the very best mocha is from Mocha in downtown Milwaukee...a wonderful mix of dark chocolate, milk, caramel, foam...mmm). The cupping was wonderful and introduced me to their fresh roasted Brazilian blend, which I promptly bought. Then on to The Summit, where I found out that poppies grow in Alabama! Picked up a packet of those and the Smith and Hawken catalog, a dreaming gardeners, well, dream! Next stop, Williams Sonoma. Again, more dreaming and buying. Grapeseed oil in a tin, biscuit cutters...
I digress.
Stopped by Starbucks to have coffee and spend time with a friend I hadn't seen in a while and friends I see often. Kidnapped far-away friend for bike buying excursion. 1 hour later, I was the proud owner of a cool cruiser. Said cruiser has been described by a friend as 'the mac of bikes, sleek and black and white". sigh. It's true. I rode it to a bookshop and grocery store, wearing a skirt and checkered Vans, feeling like a million bucks!!
The day also included lunch and beer at The Garage, and cooking dinner for friends mentioned above. It ended at Bottletree for a Dance Party where I shook my ass with about 100 hipsters, decked out in spandex, dreads, and fanny packs. What a day. The best one I have had in quite some time.
Today (Sunday) I have read my Teen book (An Abundance of Katherines). Thanks Tillman3x's for the rec and the borrowed copy. Also worked on my pesto recipe. Recipe to be shared soon, once it is tweaked a bit more. Modifications include arugula and sprouts. Also successfully tried Red Velvet cake balls from Bakerella.

All in all a very lovely weekend, full of friends, food and other feel good things. God really knows exactly how to make me feel at home here in my new little nest. It's funny how He shows up just when I am sure that he has forgotten me and reminds me that He knows me best and can speak intimately to my deepest fears and pains and longings.

Times have changed and times are strange

I spent my first weekend at my new home. I want to call it my new house or new apartment, because it doesn't yet feel like home, but I am hopeful it soon will.

Moving was bittersweet. I thought that I was done getting one bedroom apartments and living in them alone. As great as this place is, I resent it a little. It is a reminder of all I have lost as of late. However, it is a lovely little apartment and I think I will grow to love it. It is cozy and is beginning to feel safe. That's a start.

I also cooked my first meal here. First, I walked to the grocery store in the beautiful, dusk-y evening and looked around, trying not to feel like a stranger. It really is lovely, the neighborhood I now call home. I bought lots of fresh veggies and pasta (I am slowly trying to build up a respectable pantry), and headed home. There I cooked a delicious pasta dish with mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, fresh basil and garlic, with a side of Parmesan green beans.
I do really like my new kitchen. It has a little window sill that makes me very happy. My friend John brought me some flowers, so it is just adorable. I also have a little 'coffee cove' that is homey and caffeinated, sharing a space with my beautiful cookbooks. I love to drink coffee and peruse them for promising recipes and inspiring pictures. Apples For Jam is an especially beautiful one.
So, after a hot bath and a good book, I am settling down for night 2. Maybe tonight I won't need to leave a lamp on in the living room!

UPDATE: No lamp needed. However, narcotics were...but at least I was in a bed and not on a couch!

I was a gypsy lost in the Twilight Zone

The racial makeup of the city is 98.64% White, 0.31% Black or African American, 0.04% Native American, 0.65% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.12% from other races, and 0.22% from two or more races. 0.58% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. 68.0% are married couples living together, 5.5% have a female householder with no husband present, and 25.3% are non-families. 22.7% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.9% have someone living alone
The median income for a household in the city is $100,483, and the median income for a family is $122,647. Males have a median income of $100,000 versus $39,770 for females. The per capita income for the city is $59,085. 2.9% of the population and 1.9% of families are below the poverty line.

From the MountainBrookAl website

This makes me throw up a little in my mouth. It is just so safe. and pretty. Neither of which I normally chose. Here's to change.

However, my new little apartment in very cute and small. I can walk or ride a bike to 2 coffee shops, a grocery store, post office, pharmacy, bookstore, bank, pizza joint and shops that I can't (and shouldn't) shop in.

I am trying safety on for size. Both physical and emotional.

French Press wishes and coffee bean dreams

I think that I may have to trek out to Primavera coffee soon. I looked at their website (Thanks, C.J for the tip!) and anyplace that describes themselves this way is where I want to be...

"Primavera dreams of a world filled with bicycles (and the occasional biodiesel-fueled vehicle), farmer’s markets, rosettas, and red wigglers all co-existing in perfect harmony. Siestas will be nationally implemented. Buildings will look as if they tumbled out of the mind of Howard Roark. People will dream, and then act. Laundry will contentedly hang between ancient trees, drying in the golden sun. Failure to conserve and recycle will result in a friendly visit with the local law enforcement officers. The words “High Fructose Corn Syrup” will be banished from the dictionary. The drip machine will battle its nemesis, the French press, only to meet its bloody death. And specialty coffee will reside in the same category as fine art… " From the Primavera website.

I oft dream of a house made by Howard Roark and I simply must buy my coffee from those who share that dream. I know it sounds silly to buy coffee when I have pound upon pound of free Starbucks coffee taking up space in my cabinets, but I just may have to. Live locally and sip contendly, that is.