Finders Creepers

HIDDEN 'GEMS': As reported here recently, we finally tore down the wall between the kitchen and this view (photo taken from the kitchen on Monday).

At this point in our lives, we have torn down too many walls to count. And you know how you hear neat-o stories about people finding trea$ure$ or great mementos in their walls when remodeling? Yeah, we're not those people, unfortunately.

The former kitchen wall yielded a couple of curiosities. One was a beat up old Heidelberg beer box part, being used as a baffle of some sorts.  

The other surprise? ... Hey, what's that? ...

Oh HELL no! It's a petrified reptilian creature staring lifelessly out at us. >SHUDDER<

Wonder how long he'd been there - two weeks or 50 years? Not a pleasant place or way to die, that's for sure.

MUSIC MATTERS: Over the past week CJ has had the opportunity to visit two record stores, much to his pleasure. It was his first visit to one in months, due to damn COVID. And while the Novel Coronavirus 19 isn't going anywhere anytime soon in the States, CJ masked up and socially distance shopped at each place. 

He can tell you a bit about his recent acquisitions. 

In the past three days, I've bought two albums that I've wanted in my record collection for a long time. In the midst of this global pandemic, I opted to support local businesses by buying them from brick-and-mortar stores.

The first album was Bleach, the debut album of iconic Seattle band Nirvana. Bleach arguably serves as one of the foundational albums of the Grunge genre, and was the first recorded and widely-available showcase of Nirvana's songwriting and performance chops. The cashier at Silver Platters, the store I purchased Bleach at, told me that he had seen me pick up the album at least three or four times before during previous visits.

Also worth noting is that the issue of Bleach I purchased contains a recording of a full performance by Nirvana on February 9, 1990 at the Pine Street Theatre in Portland, Oregon. The recording demonstrates Nirvana's live show pre-Nevermind.

This morning, my mother and I went to Easy Street Records in Seattle to get breakfast and purchase an album. In haste, I picked out Surfer Rosa by the Pixies. Surfer Rosa was the Pixies' first full-length album, and included Where Is My Mind?, their most famous song. The Pixies were a major influence on several major bands to follow, including Nirvana, Weezer, and Radiohead.

Also, shout out to Nonnie and Bops for CJ's Silver Platters gift certificate. You can see he put it to good use. 

Here's an exterior shot of Easy Street from my vantage point while waiting on CJ this morning. 

HOPPY DAYS: While most of our garden underwhelms, we do have to give props to the hops. They are growing like gangbusters. 

Looks like brewing with home grown hops is in Christian's future!