AKRON ZOO 04/29/2011

THEY SAY IT'S SPRING HERE...

TREE

BROTHERS

The boys often take naps together. Big brother is literally big brother.

WEST SIDE MARKET

Cleveland isn't exactly L.A. or New York City, Phoenix or Miami. Manufacturing is gone, the Cavs stink, & winter is too long here for my tastes, but if you look hard enough, there are some charms about the place. There is a sense that people who stay here are trying their best to make a go of it, and that I like.

So it was on a news show I saw a report about this food market in the shadows of downtown Cleveland. We piled into the van this morning and headed out on a 60 mile trip from our house, in less than ideal weather. But it was worth it.

The last market I've been to like this was the Seattle Fish Market in...Seattle. Since we didn't get an early start, the crowds were a bit much, but even that added to the buzz of the place.

Oh the delicacies, meats, cheeses, fresh baked bread, peanuts, coffees, cupcakes, cookies, apple fritters...

...bananas, peppers, banana peppers, grapes, strawberries, mangoes...

...a variety of popcorn, olive oils, pastas, and candies.

Oh, and the booth selling all things Asian had this bottle of carbonated Peach soda with a lid I could not get open. In fact, we just brought it home where I pulled out the pliers and still could not get the cap off. I then noticed the marble on the top must have something to do with this perplexing packaging. Come to find out, you push the marble down through the blue part, and it rest in a cradle while the soda pours out.

Dawn said the bakery items were the best part, which explains why we brought home a bunch of goodies, including Red Velvet, Mocha and Chai muffins.

TIMESCAPE

I'm just now getting around to all the cool stuff found on Vimeo. This is one video I really enjoyed and made me wish I made a living shooting this kind of stuff.

TimeScapes: Rapture from http://vimeo.com/timescapes on Vimeo.

It's one of those days where there's things to do and I just sit and stare...at anything.

WAR

Just finished listening to this book. Both a great and sad story. Krakauer gives a really good overview and history of some of our middle east problems while at the same time weaving in the life of Pat Tillman. All in all, a tragedy for the family, a black eye for the Army and government, and reminder that war, though necessary at times, is never good for anyone.

CITY OF TRANQUIL LIGHT


I've been reading this book for weeks. Not because it's a bad book or slow moving, quite the opposite actually. But life has been getting in the way, so it took me longer than normal to get through it. I checked this book out from the library and have had to renew it 4 or 5 times. The weird benefit of this is, I feel I've spent a lot of time with the two main characters in this novel, Will and Katherine, a husband and wife team who serve as Mennonite missionaries in China, during the early parts of the 20th century. I was able to finish the book today, and am so sorry it had to come to an end. I will miss Will and Katherine, and all the people I got to know in this book. And, at the risk of sounding like a woman, or girly-man, this book moved me, which only a few books in my life have done.

As I mentioned earlier I checked this out from the library, so it was free, but knowing what I know now of this book, I would've paid the $25 hardcover price. If you're looking for a book to read, you may want to put this one on your list. If you do, I'd love to hear what you thought.