Chattanooga, yesterday.

This is a photo I took of my cousin Marie standing in a u-pick strawberry field near the coast in California sometime in late Septemeber 2010 when I visited her for a couple days after I lost my job. And this is a thing I wrote about that trip, up today on The Billfold.

Decatur after a rainstorm is my favorite Decatur.

Do y’all remember Basil Marceaux? He’s running for office again! Although, really, I think he is just is a perpetual state of running for office—it’s not something he ever really stops doing, it justs crests and ebbs every few years. This time he’s angling for Hamilton County, Tenn., mayor. Joe and I were up visiting our families in Chattanooga over the weekend and saw a couple of these signs around town—they’re really huge, made of big planks of wood, and I think the lettering is some kind of insulation foam spray or glue or something that’s been painted over. Some versions of the sign also feature a giant wooden man-figure with what seems to be a print-out of Basil Marceaux’s face glued on the general head area, kind of! I have no idea what “33 Yrs. Double Jeopardy” means.

Oh, and I just remembered the best best best thing about Fernbank: The case full of taxidermied animals broken by misbehaving visitors titled “LOOK WHAT SOMEONE DID TO ME!” Joe watched a kid peer into the case, kinda grimace, then shrug and run straight over to the exhibit and try to grab at one of the turkeys. Maybe he just wanted to see what kind of huge cottony wire-wrapped tampon thing was holding its head up? I mean, I was curious too, but.

Fernbank really is so much fun. Joe and I went Saturday, our first visit since we impulsively became members a couple months ago (WHAT A WILD AND CRAZY LIFE WE LIVE, RIGHT?). The special exhibit, something about wildlife rescue, is mostly kidstuff—lots of flashing lights and colors and buttons to be slapped (I think a museum would do well to just have a permanent Button Slapping exhibit, tiny people really like that)—but Walk Through Georgia was kind of great. A little creepy, a little campy, a little outdated (many many of banks of telephone receivers you could pick up for more information about the taxidermied creatures on display and the kids were all like LOL WHUT ARE THESE, MOM), but that is the best thing for a natural history exhibit to be, I think. Also I got ogled by a dinosaur so that was cool. ANYWAY, YES, SO EXCITED FOR THE POOP.

It’s beautiful in Atlanta today, really just the perfect weather for sitting on a bench and talking about alignment charts with your husband while watching other peoples’ kids play basketball by the cemetery.

This guy thought he was about ten times bigger than he actually was, I think. Also near Half Moon Bay.

Half Moon Bay.

My way pretty little sister on the Golden Gate Bridge last week.