School papers
(I'm still beyond irritated by my work yesterday. Hoping that will fade some by the end of a Monday - ideally this Monday.)
This morning I walked about 3/4 mile down Montauk Hwy to Pete's Bagels and had a BACON, egg, and cheese bagel on pumpernickel. I think it weighed 15 lbs. At least I feel that much weight in my stomach. But it was very good and the coffee was strong.
Montauk Hwy is the main drag through Eastport and is really just a busy two-lane street with shops on either side as it goes through this town. They're mostly antique shops and I'm told the number is dwindling as many give up and go out of business. One I walked by had a sign in the window that said "Thinking about going out of business sale."
I put my laptop in my backpack and sat in Pete's Bagels to do some work (see below) while I ate my 15 lb. bagel. Pete does a brisk business in the morning with what seems to be mostly locals (the workers knew almost everyone) on their way to work.
Listening to their interactions made me think about the lyric from the song New York, New York, "If you can make it here you can make it anywhere." Maybe it's the NY accent but their appearance gives them a tough guy look that says, "you do NOT want to mess with me." I felt very much the skinny wimp from Oregon.
When Nathan picked me up the other day for lunch and the tour of some of the houses he's worked on he greeted me as I got in the car with a grin and, "Gonna go chop down some trees?" I asked why he said that and he explained it was my jacket. I guess a plaid wool-looking jacket screams the woods of Oregon. And it looked a wee bit out of place in Pete's Bagels where the guys had old sweat shirts and/or worn navy blue jackets.
At some point about 30 years ago (?) the church here moved an old house that sat next to their building to a lot they purchased next door. That gave them more parking which they badly needed. They built a new foundation (basement) for the house and then set it in place. Now that house has fallen into disrepair and they want to use the lot to build a multi-purpose structure. So the plan is to tear down the house.
Nooooooo!
I want it.
If you click on the pics they'll enlarge and you'll see some of the detail. The back is nothing to look at but the front and sides have wonderful detail.
Fish scale siding in the gable ends, wonderful detail on the porch railing and the corbels as well as the rafter ends....
I want to get inside. I'm told there's a grand staircase. I'm guessing the kitchen will be fascinating. Maybe a cook stove?
If nothing else, some cool architectural salvage.
In a conversation I had with some of the men about the house one of them asked the group, "What would we do if someone wanted to buy it and move it to a piece of property?" The answer: "Give it to them."
So now I'm trying to figure out a way to get it in my suitcase.
I love the turret. Sure, it needs a new roof and new siding. Maybe new windows all around. And probably some detailing on the inside. But she could be a looker again, and you just can't get this kind of house anymore.
(If you're reading this, Pam, wouldn't this make a great replacement for MoHo?!)
This part of Long Island (Suffolk County) used to be known for its duck farms. Now only one major duck farm remains, but millions of ducks were raised on hundreds of duck farms. "They used every part but the quack." Feathers went for pillows, meat for consumption, and eggs for b'fast.
But wait! There's more!
Turns out something called balut (ba-LOOT) is a delicacy in parts of Asia, especially the Philippines. A fertilized duck egg is incubated for between 14-21 days and then boiled. The shell is cracked and the cooked embryo is eaten whole.
G R O S S !!!
There are pics online, including in that Wikipedia article I linked to, but I'm not going to include them here.
One of the guys in the church still has a small operation and said he'd cook me up some balut to try. No, thank you.
Went to lunch with Jeremy, the youth pastor here. We grew up in the same church and have had contact in various settings over the years. It was great to spend a couple of hours talking shop. Loved it! And we went to what Jeremy says is a classic NY diner run by a Greek family. So I had a gyro with a Greek salad, and it was very good, too.
I'm going for a run now. The route I've laid out should come in at about 2 1/2 miles which is as far as I should go with a belly full of gyro. Today and tomorrow are good weather but by Wednesday we'll get 1.2" of rain and 35 mph winds. Not running weather so I'd better not skip today no matter how my belly feels.
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