hanover's.

veggie or fruit? i'd argue neither, really. heaven-sent produce needs its own category.

i come from a county that is famous for its tomatoes. some say it's the sand-like quality of the soil. others, the good-hearted farmers who love the relished crops as much as they do their own families. regardless, hanover's (as we like to refer to them) have a long-running streak as being truly the best tomatoes in the world.


if you've ever had one, you won't think it's crazy that we have an annual tomato festival every july, complete with a tomato queen, tomatoes on a stick, and other such non-traditional relics to the juicy, red gods of summer.

the topic of tomatoes came up in a recent lunch conversation. a friend of mine chimed in, "i honestly think there should be a designated holiday for the first tomato sandwich of the summer." we all agreed as she laughed and added, "i have to make 2 at a time... i eat one standing up while i make the other!" my sister admitted, "i average 3 tomatoes a day: one sliced atop my toast in the morning, another for a sandwich at lunch, and one just as a side for my dinner."
yesterday i had to suffer through a 'vine ripened in new jersey" stickered tomato, surrendering to the unyielding reality that my local market in blacksburg doesn't import from my hometown, 3 hours away. as if an answer to my epicurian prayers, a friend brought our house an unexpected surprise delivery at 11pm last night: 5 gallons of fresh-picked hanover's.

sometimes karma works overboard.

seam ripper

you've got the essence, dear.
if i could have a second skin
i'd probably dress up in you.
- belle & sebastian

city of angels.

1053 ft.

mobjack bay.

refrigerator poetry.

there is something to be said for the combination of 100+ random, magnetized words and a few drunk residents and visitors who frequently congregate in the kitchen numerous nights following adventures in downtown blacksburg. the result is a mix of poetry, prose, and obscure, inappropriate pick-up lines that both inspire laughing and foggy insight the following morning. here are a few inspiring quips from this past week.




*to be an ongoing post, for whenever my refrigerator inspires me.

gate 9.

9am wednesday. RIC airport. gate 9.

justin is a physical therapist in seattle. and i'll never forget him.

you know, i don't think he'll forget me either. not anytime soon.

his kids are jake, and finley, 5 and 8. his girlfriend, maxi, is in germany. just before we parted ways i gave him a richmond postcard i'd been saving for just such an opportunity, in exchange for a promise to buy an international stamp and send it to her. they met when she tore her ACL. "she had her eye on me for a while... i had no idea." part of me believed him. he was reading 'Chicken Soup for the Lover's Soul'. i was the only one who would verbally make fun of him that day. his simple justification: 'well, i'm in love.' they took the most beautiful photo at dawn on charles bridge in Prague. he said i looked czech with my high cheekbones and bright eyes.

it's funny, now that i think of it. overhearing my response as to why i was going to colorado. 'i have no idea,' he laughed and forged a uniquely cliche introduction-- 'what's your story?'

and here i am, writing his.

<3.

arrivals/departures

it appears i have allowed the july doldrums to leak in, however only in the blog area of my life. as for the other sectors, they have all thrived with life in the midsummer month.

for that, i will have a series of posts just of notes from my recent and ongoing travels. a text i sent my friend from the airport a little over a week ago: it's all too much. with 2 glasses of wine i could cry with how beautiful life is.

and i almost did. the high i get from traveling is unmatched. the combined thrill of insatiable, misguided adventure and the anonymity that comes with sitting in an airport bar, talking to people who are all going places... whether it's just home or overseas or in my case, colorado... for a reason i couldn't name. it truly is just all too much.