Vienna Sausage display at checkout, Sunflower grocery store in Lexington, Mississippi
Careful With That Porch Chair
In Jefferson, Alabama
Punch Today in the Face, and Text Me at MODA
We visited the Museum of Design Atlanta first so that the boys could take an engineering class, and were thrilled to get to see the ‘Text Me: How We Live in Language’ exhibit which closes soon — February 4. Some of the exhibit is not for younger people, so while I did take the boys back to see much of it, there were parts we breezed over. It was easy to do as anything questionable is hung at a higher level.
Here, the boys are in the classroom area where they watched 3D printers work:
From the MODA website on the Text Me exhibit:
The individual component of language—text—is the prime vehicle used to express the experiences of our existence—from minor moments of daily life to the grand nature of the human condition. Our ancestors as far back as the cave man have been using symbols to document and record experiences.
Today, the visualization of our personal stories is an integral and essential part of nearly every moment of life, and we use text in all of its forms to define reality, emotions and even time itself. We are now living in a world wherein the condition of our visual communication reflects the condition of our culture. Conceived and curated by designer, podcaster, and brand strategist Debbie Millman, this exhibition is an attempt to organize, express, translate and reflect both how we live in language and how language now defines our lives.
The Crossroads of Should and Must by Elle Luna
Guns are Good for the Economy, Guns are Bad for the Economy by Brian Singer
Money is a Waste of Time by Christopher Simmons
Bottled Feelings by Adam J Kurtz
Oy / Yo by Deborah Kass
I Dismantle by Lesley Dill
Thoughts & Prayers by Christopher Simmons
…and in the giftshop area:
Don’t Block the Frozen Meat, Fam
Anne and I found this in Florence, Alabama
Oysters And Gold Leafing At Billy Reid
Billy Reid brings the cool. His home and stores have been in so many interiors mags (and GQ, here), has been recognized by CFDA twice now, and this Florence, Alabama flagship store started out in a house where his design gallery was located upstairs (now the design gallery is in the back of the downtown shop plus there’s one in NYC). There are now two Billy Reid shops in Atlanta, plus Austin, Charleston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Nashville, New Orleans, two in NYC, and one in DC.
Before this month, Anne and I last visited the Florence shop in spring, when these strings of oysters were up. Billy made oysters the focus of a spring-summer print.
And by all accounts I know, Billy’s just a super nice guy. He emailed me years ago just checking in and thanking me for mentioning him here on DFK, which was really, really kind.
Various works by Butch Anthony are scattered about:
The aesthetic of the shop is sleek but also worn and well-loved, and his clothes have similar freshness that’s also really familiar and classic.
On our visit last week, the oyster strings were gone and up instead was a wood feature that had some gold leafing. From their Insta:
The pic below is from one of the dressing rooms, where the wall is papered with prints of old photographs (mmmmm…I tried on the dress below last week, but the arms fit a little tight and everything else fit a little too loose). Love Billy’s looks, though. And he’s forever doing fun collabs, like with Levi’s, J. Crew, K-Swiss, and Coach (yeowch, and an apron with John Besh). Last year: lux mardi gras beads, though they’re no longer available.
Vogue has a feature on ‘Doutzen Kroes and Family Take the Season’s Best Topcoats on a Tour of the Bayou‘ in the Feb 2018 issue with a Billy Reid suit and ooooh those pics.
He Wasn’t The Best, But He Was The Best I Ever Had
This week, Anne and I decided to go back to Florence, Alabama — our first stop was the Key Underwood Coon Dog Memorial Cemetery, where Key buried his dog in 1937. Since that time, other hunters wanted to bury their dogs there, and a rule was put in place to limit the place to only true coondogs. From the cemetery site:
“When I buried Troop, I had no intention of establishing a coon dog cemetery,” says Underwood. “I merely wanted to do something special for a special coon dog.”
When columnist Rheta Grimsley Johnson interviewed Underwood in 1985, he told her that a woman from California wrote him wanting to know why he didn’t allow other kinds of dogs to be buried at the coon dog cemetery.
“You must not know much about coon hunters and their dogs, if you think we would contaminate this burial place with poodles and lap dogs,” he responded.
My Flickr set of previous visits here.
I didn’t photograph it this time, but my favorite quote on these is this one, for Track:
“He wasn’t the best, but he was the best I ever had.”
Te-Lah-Nay’s Wall
A few months ago, my sweet friend Anne and I visited the late Tom Hendrix’ monument — the largest un-mortared rock wall in the US and more importantly the largest memorial to a Native American Woman, called the Wichahapi Commemorative Stone Wall and/or Teh-Lah-Nay’s Wall (or Te-Lah-Nay’s Wall), in Limestone County, Alabama.
Teh-Lah-Nay was Tom’s great-great grandmother, and was from the Yuchi (Euchee) tribe. She and her people were forcibly removed from this area of Alabama in the 1830s to be sent to the Indian Nations in Oklahoma. She later walked all the way back from Oklahoma to Alabama, and is the only person known to have successfully returned home.
On one visit, Tom told us the story, and we purchased his book, If the Legends Fade. He said that he sent all money from it to Oklahoma, where Yuchi girls are learning their native language – and these girls will also be sent to college with help from the funds. There are only a handful of people right now that know Yuchi language, so it is vitally important that it be passed down.
On this visit, Anne and I were so happy to meet Tom’s son, and I purchased this primitive stone stack statue. Love looking at this each day and being reminded of Tom and his incredible, heartfelt achievement.
Our first visit to the wall here.
The Boss Is The Sauce
In Sylacauga, Alabama
Hearts
Took these pics back in April but I’m thinking of hearts and Valentine’s Day for whatever reason (though, um, don’t take me here for a romantic getaway): Motel Heart of Dixie in Dadeville, Alabama
Moving Time
I was thinking about earlier this year when the weather was magnificent. First thought: when I was one of the lucky people at a conference (I think there were about a dozen of us) who got to go up the clock tower at Samford Hall at Auburn. It sounds as though they don’t let many people do it, and those who do must be led by a University architect. We were warned about wasps, though they weren’t bad at all, and by exertion, because it’s several stories up and some of it is by shipladder. Easy-easy though.
Loved seeing the bell and setup on our way up, because a couple of years ago, I got to be friends with Patty Allen, the widow of Robert Allen z”l who co-wrote the Auburn fight song with Al Stillman z”l (they’re the same pair who wrote ‘Home for the Holidays’). She is fabulous! I sent her a pic of this after my visit, and she said she wants to come see it in person sometime. It plays ‘War Eagle’ at noon each day.
At the top, we made our way to the clock. If you make it, you’re allowed to sign your name to the backside, and every Aubie mascot has done it, too:
The architect pulled the clockface back:
Here’s me in front of it, for scale:
And that view! Yessss
