Randall Bramblett, having toured with bands including the Gregg Allman Band, Traffic, Widespread Panic and worked with the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Robbie Robertson, Elvin Bishop and others, and having produced multiple CD’s with his own band as a singer/songwriter, performed in a free concert last night as part of Mountain View Arts Alliance Summer… Read More Randall Bramblett Concert – Aug 2015
Originally aired on Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) October, 2014, this was our first time actually seeing The BBQ Show, a show dedicated to the art of slow cooking meats. This is my 15 seconds of fame (actually less). Having signed up for Sam Huff’s Pork University, my neighbor and I attended this daylong course on… Read More The BBQ Show – August 2015
As many of you know, I recently had shoulder surgery, and I wanted to provide an update. Now there seem to be conflicting and contradictory stories about how I hurt my shoulder in the first place. One version had me attacked by a Grizzly bear while hiking in Yellowstone. Another had me paddling in the… Read More Shoulder Surgery Update – August 2015
July seems to be healthcare month; all four family members in some way, shape or form contributing to the healthcare economy. For me, it is shoulder surgery on a full tear rotator cuff. Owee. As you can see, I am in my best go-to-the-outpatient-facility threads in preparation for surgery. My bride thinks I look like… Read More Shoulder Surgery – July 2015
We are nothing if not flexible. With an original plan for Karen to ride RAGBRAI (Rgisster’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa), with participation from both kids early in the ride, plans changed. Karen with a lower back pain still unhealed, Michela with a new back pain, Drew with a cancelled flight… yikes! We yanked… Read More RAGBRAI (IA) – July 2015
ROBERTS PARTY OF 4 TO SIOUX CITY! (Harken back to the iconic Hilltop Restaurant on Route 1 in Saugus, MA). The Roberts family is about to head to the real Sioux City in Iowa to participate in RAGBRAI (Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa), starting next weekend. RAGBRAI, with 8,500 participants, starts in Sioux… Read More Heading to Sioux City – July 2015
Child Unit 1, more commonly known as our daughter Michela, decided she needed to put a little bling in her life. So before heading off to Duke University for graduate school, she and her friend Kristen decided to jump out of an airplane. I can just imagine the discussion. “Hey Michela, what do you want… Read More Child Unit 1 Airborne! – July 2015
We have much to be thankful for, and celebrating the birth of our great nation for us is steeped in neighborhood. We celebrated with our immediate neighbors, many who participate and offer something of themselves to make the entire day a delight, whether it be food, music, desserts, sparklers, fireworks, or treats for the kids.… Read More Independence Day – July 2015
Throw back to January… I am at a loss to describe the traumatic physiological or psychological disturbance in my life that has caused me to want to operate earth-moving equipment. To satisfy my testosterone imbalance, Karen and the kids bought me for Christmas a session with an excavator in, you guessed it, Las Vegas, NV!… Read More Vegas, baby – Jan 2015
Last night was Motown Night in Marietta Square. The fact that it was 90 degrees had zero impact – maybe it even helped! There was A LOT of dancing going on. Just sayin’.
Go Huskies! Our son Drew and the Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech) team participated in the National Concrete Canoe Competition this past weekend. Sponsored by the ASCE (American Association of Civil Engineers), the competition was hosted at Clemson University in Seneca, SC. Michigan Tech’s boat was named Talvi Sielu, which I am told means Winter… Read More Concrete Canoe (SC) – June 2015
Last weekend we had a fabulous night in Little Five Points (L5P), a little kitschy, Bohemian neighborhood just east of downtown Atlanta. L5P is home to some really eclectic shops (Junkman’s Daughter, Criminal Records) and restaurants such as the Vortex, Cameli’s Pizza and our destination – Fox Brothers BBQ. This was our first time at… Read More Night in L5P (GA) – June 2015
LICK! SNIFF! POOP! DROOL! Lucy’s birthday party – It’s gonna be COOL! Well, it was. Karen designed, organized and created an 18th birthday party for our dog Lucy! We invited some of Lucy’s neighborhood friends to help share her day, replete with toys, games, balloons and photos – and a home made birthday cake! We… Read More Lucy’s 18th Birthday! – June 2015
Free concert anyone? From April until September there are free concerts in Glover Park in Marietta Square (GA) on the last Friday of each month. Bring your picnic basket or dine at one of the restaurants on the square. We dined in a restaurant (we went to the Stockyard – glad we did!) and then… Read More Marietta Square – May 2015
Marietta Square (Marietta, GA) continues to delight! What a great place to go for food for the stomach – and soul, particularly on Tuesday nights when there are bluegrass pickup bands. These folks are a delight to listen to, and Marietta Square has become a “destination” location. Plenty of great restaurants, things to do and… Read More Marietta Square (GA) – May 2015
Eclectic. I’ll come back to this. Yesterday we spent a good part of the day visiting the Booth Western Art Museum, in Cartersville, GA. This is a stunning art museum and I cannot wait to return. With 120,000 square feet of space, there is much to see here, and it is fabulous. Eclectic in fact;… Read More Booth Western Art Museum – April 2015
Glam, mud and studs. That pretty much captures our fabulous day at the Atlanta Steeplechase, held at Kingston Downs near Rome, GA. We tailgated in our Airstream along the fence on the backstretch and had a front row view of the riders and horses (if you are not familiar with a steeplechase, it is basically… Read More ATL Steeplechase – April 2015
Happy Easter (and Passover)! As I sit here feeling morbidly obese after a meal with friends and family, I wanted to share a few thoughts and pictures from smoking a ham; this is a follow up to my post on Friday. If I sound distracted, that is because I had virtually no sleep last night;… Read More Easter Ham – April 2015
“One minute I was happy as a clam standing in slop in a pig pen; the next, I was cold and hanging in a meat locker…” The Pig. Our tale (not the pig’s tale – or tail) begins at Patak’s Sausage Chalet – an eastern European (Czech and Polish) manufacturer of meats and sausages, located… Read More Diary of an Easter Ham – April 2015
The Public Works group for the City of Acworth is holding a Creek Cleanup at 8:00 am on Saturday, April 18th at Lake Acworth (Acworth, GA). While I am unable to attend, I wanted to post this in case there are others interested and available on that day. If you are not familiar with Lake… Read More Lake Acworth – April 2015
Recommended to us by hiking friends Dave and Terry, we attended the Tucson Rodeo! The rodeo is a festival/celebration of the cowboy/cattle herder/horsemen, and participants are young, old, male, and female. And it is a great place to pick up a little cowgirl! We had an unbelievable day watching the rodeo: blue skies, stunning views… Read More Fiesta De Los Vaqueros (AZ) – Feb 2015
This is not your father’s camper. Oops… my bad; maybe it is! During Modernism Week in Palm Springs, CA there was a vintage camper collection on display that was to die for. There were approximately 50 various Airstreams, Streamlines, Greyhound buses, Shastas… too many different and unique brands to remember. The common theme was that these… Read More Modernism Week (a) – Feb 2015
Palm Springs, CA is my shiny new object, particularly as it relates to residential real estate. This town gushes with architectural design, to the point that you could write a book about great architectural design and never walk more than 3 blocks! The silly part is trying to provide just a few good examples when… Read More Modernism Week (b) – Feb 2015
Palm Springs, CA is rich with architectural design, and one of the areas you see this reflected is in commercial buildings. Banks, county buildings, hotels… you name it; there are examples from a number of noted architects that, in particular, demonstrate mid century modernism. Here are but a few examples.
I will be the first to admit to knowing very little (that means nothing) about Modernism Week, held in Palm Springs, CA for the last 10 years. If it hadn’t been for some particular people (our friends Chuck and Susan Nesbit, Jim/Lynda Polk, Mona Heath, and some of the great people involved with the Greater… Read More Modernism Week (d) – Feb 2015
We visited the Frank Lloyd Wright “camp” known as Taliesin West in Scottsdale, AZ – terrific! We have previously been to Fallingwater (western PA), and as anyone who has visited a Frank Lloyd Wright destination knows they are in for a treat. We had a terrific tour guide to lead us through this facility, which… Read More Taliesin West (AZ) – Feb 2015
I have been very lucky to love, laugh with and enjoy one special person in my life; sharing here a few photos of my Valentine. Happy Valentine’s Day, baby. XXOO
Going to the post-parade viewing of the Rose Parade floats is like going to the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque – you take a million pictures, and each one is better than the one before. AND, you have a hard time trying to figure which ones to delete. We viewed the Rose Parade floats this morning… Read More Rose Parade Floats (CA) – Jan 2015
We did not go to the Rose Bowl game, but we did get to scout out the Rose Bowl prior to the game. What a gorgeous setting, and of course Pasadena is really a gorgeous place with beautiful scenery, homes and people (very friendly). Karen and I got to get up close and personal at… Read More Rose Bowl (CA) – January 2015
The Rose Parade was fabulous! The parade route was jammed with people, there was a flyover by a B1 bomber, and then the highlight of the day – the Rose Parade. A few quick pics… note the celebrities like the original cast of the Love Boat and Jack Black amongst those in the parade. What… Read More Rose Parade – Jan 2015