Sweetheart Roses

All of our daughters have moved out of the house, for now at least. And lately I've been feeling cramped and slightly irritable in the art studio. So I'm searching the house for a new space, but instead of moving furniture around immediately, I will be setting up temporary space in several rooms in the house to get a feel for the natural light before moving furniture all over the place. This sweetheart rose painting is from trying out a north facing upstairs bedroom. So far, I like the room better than I thought I would. It's a large room with haint blue walls, very soothing. It looks out to the front yard and sidewalk, and in the afternoon I can watch the foot traffic going to and from the elementary school at the end of the block. It's nice to not feel so isolated. Painting is such a solitary pursuit that oft times I get lonesome. At least if the studio is in this room, I can feel more connected to the outside world, just from watching living and breathing human beings walk past. Another huge plus, this room has windows that open and have screens -- very helpful in airing out all of these oil paint and turpentine fumes.

The painting is 14" x 18" oil on linen.

Hydrangeas Times Two

The painting on the left is from last week, is painted with my usual paints, and is 9"x 12" oil on canvas. (I mainly use Old Holland, Williamsburg, and Holbein brands.) The painting on the right is from today and is 8" x 10" oil on linen with some sample paints that a sales rep gave me last Friday at an Art Expo at Art Supply on Main Street. The paint samples are a brand that Vikki (the store owner) at Art Supply has been encouraging me to buy, but art supplies are expensive, and it's hard to justify buying a new brand of something when I'm not sure that I'll like it or what the outcome will be on canvas. So it was wonderful to have the opportunity to try these Michael Harding's artist oil colors in the starter set and try one M. Graham & Co. azo yellow. The Michael Harding's starter set comes with ultramarine blue, scarlet lake, yellow lake, yellow ochre deep, burnt umber, and titanium white-2. I really like the way the paint glides on the canvas - it felt like the painting was painting itself. From day one of painting, from ease of use alone, I'd say the painting was a huge success.

Now, my usual palette wasn't necessarily represented in the color choices of the paints in the starter set, so as far as I can tell, that's the major discrepancy in the colors of the two paintings. It will be fun in the not too distant future to try the same colors side by side in two different paint brands. I'm really looking forward to that experiment. Who knows? Maybe, thanks to the kindness, thoughtfulness, and generosity of a sales representative, and thanks to Vikki for hosting the Art Expo, I've just discovered my new favorite paints?

Art Stuff

Here's a list of art related stuff I've done lately but haven't blogged about:

1.  Going to the Prado Exhibit at the MFAH - twice. And I cried both times. The first painting in the exhibit was Vulcan Forging the Thunderbolt of Jupiter by Peter Paul Reubens. Peter Paul Reubens!!! It was my very first time to see a Reubens in person and I burst into tears -- both times I saw the painting. It was also my first time to see Velesquez, El Greco, Goya, and Sorolla paintings. To say that I was moved is an understatement. I'd love to go one or two more times while the exhibit is in town if anyone wants to go with me. It's on view through March 31st.

2.  After the Prado exhibit I bought a book called Sorolla: The Masterworks by his great-granddaughter, Blanca Pons-Sorolla that I've been reading....and to be honest, looking at the pictures. That's probably the best part about art books as a grown-up -- looking at pictures. Another great thing about this book is that it's written in English. The other book on Sorolla that I have is in Spanish, and even though I understand some of it, the book in English is so much easier to read.

3.  Going to see the movie "Bert" at the Menil, a documentary about the life of artist Bert Long, who recently passed away. The movie talked at length about Bert's continual financial woes. My favorite line in the movie was when Bert said that if he was given $2 million for an art project that it would take him $3 million to complete it. He also talked about his file boxes of rejection letters....that's pretty common in the art world but we artists don't talk about it very often.

4.  Going to a volunteer party at Lawndale where I participated in and won a cake in the cake walk. So fun.

5.  Going to the MFAH for the Picasso Black and White opening night extravaganza. I really appreciate Picasso's early work and later work -- it's all the stuff in between that I find hard to like. What was interesting about this, though, was seeing how he applied paint and used ink and chalk all in the same paintings (on some things). And seeing works that I had only seen in books that are flat in books, but in real life are quite alive. I enjoyed that part of the exhibit. Opening night was PACKED.

6.  Going to an exhibit of Bert Long's paintings at Houston Baptist University. This was my favorite painting, oddly enough called Road Kill. It's quite large, 72" x 96" x 4" and is acrylic on canvas with a frame of acrylic, metallic gold and silver paint, tire, reflectors and mirrors on white pine. Why does it never occur to me to use tires and reflectors in my paintings? The show came with a catalog that I'm slowly reading, too.

 

7.  Going to Houston Center for Contemporary Craft for the Misfit Cup Liberation project, where people bring an unused cup of their own and trade it for a newly crafted one. Each participant writes a story of why their cup was discarded. It really was a liberating experience.

8.   And finally, going to the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft for "Touch in Real Time" where artist Holly Hanessian takes a small piece of clay and puts it in a handshake. It forms to the shape of both participants hands and a (hopefully) human emotional connection is formed as well. It was a plus that the artist was so engaging and easy to like.

The Dancing Tulips

Winter gives me brain freeze. Really. Cold weather and I don't mix well. All of my energy is spent trying to concentrate on keeping warm that there isn't much room for anything else in my frozen brain. That is to say that it's hard enough to figure out what to paint on a regular basis....forget it on any day below 75 degrees. (Yes, that seems to be my threshold.) 

Because of the difficulty in figuring out what to paint (lots of muddled thinking), I went to the florist. It's always a good back up plan to go to the florist when one can't think of what to paint. Except that I forget (because of the brain freeze) that flowers are not the easiest subject matter, especially tulips. Tulips are highly susceptible to light and heat -- a very wiggly flower, opening and closing and moving with the sun --  not still at all. They dance.

This painting is 9" x 12" oil on linen. 

Paperwhites and Tulips

Here is where I start saying something about painting.....*crickets*

And here is where I finish saying things about the artistic process and what not. (I'm going to go take a nap.)

These paintings are 8" x 8" oil on canvas.

More Fried Chicken

My quest to find the best fried chicken in town has led me to two more places -- Hay Merchant and Barbeque Inn - yes, fried chicken at Barbeque Inn. From what I've tasted so far, it might be hard to beat Barbeque Inn's fried chicken. Ah, it was boiling lava hot fresh but served with a bland iceberg salad and some other forgettable side. Truly, I've forgotten what the other side was.

Barbeque Inn - hot, crispy, tasty

But the Hay Merchant - oh my goodness - the fried chicken was crispy and under seasoned EXCEPT that it was served over the most amazing macaroni and cheese I've ever tasted in my life....and I don't even like macaroni and cheese! That macaroni and cheese has an addictive chemical in it that makes me crave it fortnightly.

Hay Merchant - best macaroni and cheese EVER!

The waiter also recommended a lovely sour cherry flavored Belgian beer that matched perfectly with the buttery, creamy, cheesy macaroni. I can't stop thinking about that macaroni and cheese. mmmm. Hay Merchant's fried chicken might be under seasoned on purpose just so that it doesn't overpower the macaroni and cheese. Who knows? I'm definitely going back to both places but am still on the lookout for other restaurants to try. Any more suggestions?

Final thought - if these two restaurants would combine talents, Barbeque Inn's fried chicken and Hay Merchant's macaroni and cheese, it would be a winning combination.

So Long, Bert

This blog entry is a repost of one I did on July 11, 2011.  One of the highlights of my life was not only having my art selected for an exhibit by artist Bert Long, but actually meeting and visiting with him briefly. Sadly, he passed away yesterday.

Here are some links reporting his passing:
Houston Chronicle
Culture Map
Glasstire
Robert Boyd

The following is my blog post:

This past weekend was the opening reception for Archway Gallery's 3rd Annual Juried Competition. It was SO much fun.


The Amazing Reese and I got there relatively on time, which gave us time to take the requisite photo of the painting and me posing in a gallery setting. Expecting a crowd, the gallery very wisely had fans positioned throughout the space in order to facilitate air flow, which lent itself to more than one Marilyn Monroe moment with my full skirt.

The juror for the show was Bert Long, a Houstonian and internationally acclaimed artist. As stated before, I've long been an admirer of his. When Archway Gallery sent out the artist call for this show, the main reason I entered was so that Bert Long would see my work. Then when "Cottonwood" was selected, I was beside myself because here, finally, was my opportunity to meet Bert Long.


(Can you tell how excited I am? That's Bert Long!) Devotedly, I followed him around like a puppy dog waiting for the opportunity to introduce myself and thank him for selecting my work for the show. Had I been an actual puppy, it would have looked like my tail was wagging, but that was just the gallery wind blowing up my skirt.


I'd like to think that we became fast friends the moment we met, but the grown up in me knows better. He very graciously spent some quality time with me talking about the painting, the technique, the brush strokes, etc., and how he selected "Cottonwood" not only because it's worthy on its own today, but because he sees promise in my artistic future. (!) The critique was very humbling and affirming at the same time.


The gallery had the right idea about the fans. The opening reception was absolutely packed. Several groups of our friends came out in support. It was wonderful to see everyone enjoying the art -- not just "Cottonwood", but the whole show. Bert Long did a fantastic job of selecting the pieces in the exhibit, showcasing artistic skill, heart, soul, messages, and variety -- lots of variety.


It just so happens that Bert Long and I have mutual friends, he's a neighbor of some of our long time friends, and I'm a neighbor of one of his long time friends. Of course, as this was pointed out to him, he briefly and silently studied me, peering over his glasses, like he couldn't decide if I was crazy or not. (I'm not -- really.) Bert Long didn't know it, but we've been one degree of separation for years.


The delightful evening wouldn't have been possible without the Amazing Reese. Not only is he adorable arm candy, without his supportive enthusiasm, it wouldn't have occurred to me to consider being an artist as a "career". It's incredible to think that all of this has happened in the last six years. (And that Bert Long talked about my FUTURE as an artist! So cool.) Thanks, Amazing husband Reese.


At the end of the evening, the very approachable Bert Long, with a little nudge from his lovely companion, Joan Batson, agreed to pose with me in front of "Cottonwood". I couldn't have been happier.

Human Hamster Wheel

Not just for hamsters anymore, local artist and new friend James Ciosek created a human sized hamster wheel as part of a series of his called Icons and Symbology, which will include ten or so total pieces when the series is complete. It's on display at Lawndale Art Center until March 2nd.

I was there last Friday as an enthusiastic volunteer for opening night and heard James tell people about this hamster wheel all night long but darned if I can remember exactly what he said. The gist of it is that he plans to super size everyday objects so that our perception of their use and purpose is challenged (or something like that.) What I can say about it is that this is a FUN interactive art piece and if you get the chance, by all means sign the waiver, jump in, and channel your inner hamster.

Little Boy Blue

As adorable as this little boy is on the outside, he's just a sweet on the inside. He's curious, thoughtful, considerate, playful, and warmly engaging. It's been a delight to get to know him.

This is a 16" x 20" oil on linen commissioned work. Typically what happens for commissions is that we get together for a photo session, and those photos are used as reference for the portrait. While I thoroughly enjoy painting portraits from sittings, to get a child to sit still long enough to paint would be a chore for all involved, so in these cases, reference photos save the day.

If you have an adorable little person in your life who you'd like to see immortalized in paint, give me a shout. I'd be happy to work with you.

Goldilocks

Often before starting work on commissions, I paint something, anything to calm my nerves and if I'm honest, assure myself that yes, I remember how to paint. This is one of those paintings. It's a 14" x 18" oil on linen.

Can't you just imagine this sweet little girl skipping through the woods, finding a 1920's bungalow, walking in as if she owned the place, raiding the refrigerator, leaving ice cream melting on the counter, changing computer passwords, and jumping on the furniture after swinging on the curtains? And can't you then imagine Baby Bear being surprised to find her still asleep in his bed after all of her shenanigans?

The good news is that I have a portrait commission - yay! I've already begun sketching it and will start painting soon. 

Zen Driving

Some people drive for the journey, not the destination.

This is a 20" x 30" oil on linen.

Civic Lesson

Yesterday, I had the privilege of driving our German neighbor to the Department of Homeland Security for her final interview before becoming a citizen of the United States. While waiting with her, she quizzed me on civics. I guess it was fun for her to see me struggle to answer a few of the questions. After living here my entire life, you'd think answering these questions would be easy.

It was such a thrill to get a first hand look as these people from all over the globe, old and young, black, white, and every shade in between. The interviewers opened a door calling out names they struggled to pronounce - - not a single Bob or Sue in the whole bunch. At each name a completely unique person stood tall, if not slightly nervous, each hoping to legally join Team USA and forever celebrate life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It was completely inspiring.

Purse-onalized

Thirty years ago, I traveled to San Diego to participate in a cross country meet at Balboa Park as a member of the University of Hawaii cross country team. It wasn't my best race but that's neither here nor there. The point of telling this is that during our short stay in San Diego, the team went across the border to Tijuana for an afternoon of shopping. 

While at the Tijuana market, the one thing I wanted to find was a brown leather purse.....which I did....which is also incidentally the most perfect small purse ever invented by man. Mine is also 30 years old, and time is taking its toll on my old formerly perfect small purse.

For whatever reason, probably because of being perpetually broke, because I'm a sucker for punishment,  I've made it a practice to make gifts for loved ones, especially at Christmas time. This year the gift was determined by the perfect leather purse and an outgrown pair of black leather pants. With the clock ticking, I cut the patterns out for five purses and straps by closely matching the design of the 30 year old leather purse from Tijuana. But honestly, time kept getting the best of me, and even though I made small baby steps of progress, it wasn't going to be enough to get everything done by Christmas morning. Plus, I couldn't even figure out how to thread the sewing machine and doing everything by hand would have taken  way too long. Enter the Amazing Reese. Reese saw my dilemma and offered to help. First he threaded the machine God bless him which I couldn't figure out for the life of me. Then he threaded the bobbin. Then he proceeded to sew the front, back, and zipper together.

With daughters out of the house on Christmas eve, and grocery shopping and cooking prep for Christmas dinner completed, I had enough time to hand sew the straps to the body of the purse. Whew.

Now, over the years, Reese and I have gotten mixed reviews from our homemade gifts. Not everyone appreciates the thought, time, and effort that goes into something handcrafted.  I guess some of those negative vibes were floating around in my head and therefore I had very low expectations about how they would be received.

To our delight and my surprise, all four daughters love their new purses!

And remember, we made one for me, too, which I also love and which was used today while taking Tilly (the wonder dog) to do her volunteer work at Methodist Hospital. It really is the perfect purse.

Go Coat

The weather was perfect today for putting on the final clear protective coating of the art heart I created for the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women.

It has taken over two months to get to this point.  It's a huge honor to be asked to participate as an artist on behalf of heart health in women, but it's also extremely nice to be finished with the project. It's going to a new home tomorrow! Yay!

Tilly Goes to School

Tilly is so smart that she was accepted to Rice University! Well, she IS smart, but not that smart. At the request of the school librarian, Tilly went to the library on campus to help students de-stress during finals. Her main "job" is to let everyone pet her, but she also performed almost all of her tricks for the students and faculty who were there.

The librarian gave Tilly an authentic Rice scarf so she's totally legit wherever she goes on campus.

We've gone three times over the past four days and we're leaving soon for one more library visit before Christmas break. It's been a blast.

Peony Leafer

Last week I worked on finishing up this art heart for the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women movement. It's for a particular patron in the Circle of Red Society. She donates money and enthusiasm toward promoting heart health for women, and I donate artistic creativity (and enthusiasm) making this art heart specifically for her, specifically because of her sizable monetary donation. For the edges of the heart, I made my own simple peony leaf design stencil out of thick stiff paper, in this case grocery sacks. Because I wanted to alternate the direction of the leaf without waiting for the oil paint to dry in between painting, I went ahead and made two stencils, orienting them left and right.

It's a conundrum, really, to work on these hearts because all sides of the heart need to be covered in paint and still work together as one piece of art. I had considered painting leaves, trees, and sky the sides, but the issue there was marrying both sides of the heart cohesively. Bringing leaves, trees, and sky to the side wouldn't work in this instance because of the extreme close up of the single peony on the other side of the heart, as seen here. So I made the stencils to tie both paintings together simply, without the whole heart getting bogged down in insignificant detail.

Here's what it looks like with the peony leaf stencils painted around the edge -- not too busy but not too plain, either. I quite like it. It's my first time using stencils in one of my paintings. In his later years, Henri Matisse used paper cut outs and stencils extensively in his work, so I'm in good company using this process. Plus, Matisse is one of the favorite artists of the lady who will eventually get this heart. So there's that.

Pound Cake

When our daughters were small, one of my favorite things about being their mommy was reading books aloud while they snuggled up to me on the sofa. The Little House books were a family favorite. The books are full of wonderful stories about the beauty and harshness of early American frontier life. They are also chock full of lessons if one is inclined toward that sort of thing. That's how we found the Little House Cookbook, because we were looking for supplemental materials to go along with what we were already reading. The pound cake recipe on page 204 is by far my favorite recipe in the whole book. It's based on the following excerpt from Farmer Boy.

That day they made ice cream again, and ate the last cake. Alice said she knew how to make a pound cake. She said she'd make one, and then she was going to go sit in the parlor.
Almanzo thought that wouldn't be any fun....
That afternoon he came into the kitchen to see if the pound cake was done. Alice was taking it out of the oven. It smelled so good that he broke a little piece off the corner. Then Alice cut a slice to hide the broken place, and then they ate two more slices with the last of the ice cream.

Farmer Boy

Just reading that small bit of Farmer Boy makes me kinda wish I had some little ones to snuggle with on the sofa again. Those years sure were magical, though it's also fun watching our daughters mature into women. Our four grown daughters will be home for Thanksgiving tomorrow - all four! My heart and house will be full.

Pound Cake

1 lb butter (2 cups)
1 lb sugar (2 cups)
1 lb eggs (8 medium eggs)
1 lb flour (4 cups)
grated nutmeg

That's about all there is to it. Cream the butter. Add the sugar. Add eggs one by one. Add flour bit by bit but don't over blend. Mixture will be stiff.

Spoon batter into two bread pans. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 and bake another 30 minutes. Remove from pan to cool.

The house smells so good when this is baking. It tastes so much better than anything you'd buy at the grocery store.  Sometimes I add a little rum or brandy to the batter (about a cup) but it's quite good without it. Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving.

Just One More

Almost every Friday, Tilly gets super groomed so we can go visit folks at Methodist Hospital. She is such a good dog and for the most part loves getting groomed. (The only time she pulls away is when I get to her back paws. I think she's ticklish.) Even though it's exhausting to do all of her grooming myself, the pay off is totally worth it. It's amazing how just seeing a dog walk down a corridor affects people for the better.

The Methodist Hospital staff is great. Therapy dogs have been part of their program for years.  They always encourage us to see just one more patient. Just one more. I love it. So does Tilly. This might be the best volunteer job ever.

Peonies in a Glass Vase

As oft happens (with me), this is the second time I've painted this image, the first being on the art heart in the last post, which, incidentally, is not finished, yet. Per the norm, this one  might or might not be finished, yet, also. (Is that too many commas?) It takes me a while to "see" things that need to be tweaked....if they need tweaking at all. I suppose that sometimes I just need to live with the paintings before deciding if they are properly and completely all the way finished.

For the most part, Peonies in a Glass Vase was really fun to paint. The un-fun part was that the paint dried too quickly to easily manipulate before I had time to get to the whole of it on account of not having large enough chunks of time with which to work. This took hours and hours, too many to count, so I broke it up over several days. It's becoming more and more common for me to take several days working on things....maybe because I'm using larger canvases. (?) Consequently, some parts of this got painted over and over in order to keep blending the oil paints.

This painting is quite large, 29" x 32" give or take a quarter inch. Also, it's painted on wood, which was interesting, too, because the wood grain presented its own challenges with ridges and dips and such. Plus, even though I gessoed the wood (using gesso as a verb), the paint absorbed more into the wood than what usually happens when painting on linen.

Here's something I haven't thought about until this very second. Duh. How on earth am I going to wire this for hanging? Hmm....that could be a problem. 

Peony For Your Thoughts

This is the beginning of the work for the art heart for the American Heart Association. It's a peony. A peony is a very complicated flower to paint, by the way. It also happens to be the favorite flower for the lady who will receive this heart for her contribution to Go Red for Women.

This is the other side of the heart - peonies in a vase.

Next I get to decide how to complete the background and the sides of the heart, probably with leaves or something. Hopefully I'll dream about it tonight. Solving problems in my dreams is always fun.

Still Got Sole

Even though nothing has been said about this past week, it should come as no surprise that in some regards I made more work for myself than was necessary, and in other regards, got absolutely nothing accomplished. Typical week around here that was full and wonderful, exhausting and refreshing.

The opening reception/retablo extravaganza was last Thursday night at Lawndale Art Center. Daughter Anna and I got there late-ish (on purpose). Here's the requisite artist pose next to my pink chucks retablo while wearing the pink chucks that were the still life for the retablo. Are inanimate objects still a still life if I'm wearing them?

While at the opening, some friends asked me what shoes have to do with Day of the Dead. I told them that I wanted to put extra SOLE in my work. They laughed.

In the spirit of Day of the Dead, the next day I was Anna's model while she painted a skeleton on a black body suit while I was in it. It was a chilly day. The paint went through the fabric to my skin and was wet and cold.  Here I am getting my bone-y @$$ painted, except in real life, my @$$ is not bone-y at all.

After she was finished painting, I had to stay upright and not bend or sit in the skeleton suit until the paint dried. It was really cold and took a long time for the paint to dry.

 This is what the front of the skeleton suit Anna painted looks like. Anna did a great job! The bones suit is for her -- I was just the model -- and even though my bones are shorter than hers, it looks awesome on her when she wears it.

Sigh Language

Not one of my more brilliant ideas....in fact, it's quite the opposite. 

First of all, this should not have been a project for indoors though it has been good to be near the bathroom sink. This is way more of a mess and way more trouble than it was supposed to be. The plan was to mix my own colors using house paint instead of oils like I usually do. The only way I could think to economize on the cost of paints for the new big art heart project was to use house paint.

Trying to economize with art supplies has wasted my time, efforts, sanity, and money. Not as much money as if I were using oil paints, but the trade off in the learning curve, time, and confidence might make it worth it to use oils. It's just such an expensive habit to have....being an artist. And then to fail in even a small way is such a waste of valuable resources.

*deep sigh*

Bravery Practice

All of these paint samples are for a big art project, another art heart for the Go Red for Women segment of the local Houston chapter of the American Heart Association. I've been paired with a local patron and will, to the best of my ability, match the style of the heart to her particular likes and tastes which will then be presented to her in gratitude for her financial contribution toward raising awareness for heart health in women.

Before starting on the actual piece, I'm going to paint a similar image (same color scheme) on a piece of plywood just to practice with these paints. The last time I used house paint for an art project I painted the mural on the back of the house. This won't be nearly so large a project as that.

For this project, I bought a basic yellow, red, and blue, then a bunch of neutrals to mix colors. At this point I'm a little intimidated (OK, a lot intimidated) by the project, not only because of the unfamiliarity of working with house paint, but also because the initial drawing for the work is very complicated and detailed with only a slight nuance of color differentiation. It won't be easy. Hopefully the practice painting will help me work through color matching, paint chemistry, paint application, and self confidence issues. Braveness eventually arrives in some form or another when I'm questioning my artistic abilities like this (which happens not infrequently), but certainly not before I actually start the doing of painting. Better get after it. Maybe tomorrow.  :)

Self Portrait in Pink....Chucks

This is my retablo for Lawndale Art Center's Dia de los Muertos exhibit. The photo is also a self portrait of sorts. Those are my feet in those pink chucks.

The retablo will be auctioned off at a silent auction on October 25th, though calling it a silent auction seems ridiculous considering how loud and raucous the event is every year. It's a noisy, crowded auction - super fun, but not at all silent. It's Lawndale's annual fund raiser and for the money, one of the best parties in town.

This retablo is 12" x 12" oil on metal on hardboard. Opening bid is $50.

The day is fast approaching when these "dress" shoes will be retired. What a sad day that will be.  I'm getting teary just thinking about it.

Dinner Bell

In my quest to find the best fried chicken in town, and because it came highly recommended, we tried the Dinner Bell Cafeteria last Sunday.We had tried going the week before on a Saturday, but they are closed on Saturday. Duh. How would anyone know that a restaurant would be closed on a Saturday? Apparently it's common knowledge. I've been reluctant to write about our experience because, well, it was less than wonderful.

The Amazing Reese grew up in the east end, and his family would go there every Sunday after church when he was a child. His dad would never order food. He knew that his kids would order more than they could eat, so he waited until they were finished, then he would eat their leftovers. Sounds sensible if you ask me. Apparently the place was hopping in the late 60's early 70's.

We got there between 1:30 and 2 and the place was a like a dark dreary crypt and smelled like the worst part of old, which is incidental considering there's a cemetery just down the road a piece. It was almost groovy, but not quite. Reese did point out the built in ash tray as we walked to the serving line. It wasn't that long ago that restaurants allowed smoking. The decor hasn't changed in decades, if ever. Not that that's a bad thing, but when the vinyl booth seats have duct tape to keep them from splitting further, maybe it's time for a little upgrade. 

Our sole purpose in going there was for the fried chicken. After sitting in the main dungeon of a dining room, we unrolled our silverware. Reese remarked that he was glad that my mother wasn't there. It looked like nothing had been properly cleaned or disinfected in 25 years....maybe more. Still holding out hope that the chicken would be stellar, I bit into a piece. It was properly crunchy...only because it had been sitting under a heat lamp for God knows how long. Underneath the crunch was a layer of chicken jerky and under that, something resembling fried chicken taste. It was really more like they hadn't cleaned the fryer ever....it tasted like old fryer grease, not that I've ever tried old fryer grease, but this is what I imagine it would taste like.

Why oh why did we get suckered into sides? Between three of us, we tried the black eyed peas, fried okra, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes and gravy, and carrots. Nothing was any good. How sad for a cafeteria in the south not to have at least mediocre fried okra and black eyed peas.

It's a flaw in my character (or, depending how one looks at it, really endearing) that I keep expecting something (life, relationships, experiences) to improve when all evidence repeatedly points to the contrary. Hopeful that the bakery would at least redeem our dining experience, I ordered a cookie on the way out. I should have known better. Bleh.

The best thing about the Dinner Bell Cafeteria  was the companionship of the two people who bravely joined me on this quest to find the best fried chicken in town. It's not here. Where next?