The end is not the end

Faithful readers...I'm hanging up The Vol Abroad. Over the last nine months or so, I haven't been able to maintain my blogging presence here, so I'm pulling the plug.

My online footprint is too large and I'm too sloppy to maintain an anonymous blog. I'm now working on daily basis with people with a lot more Internet smarts than me who could rumble me out in a heartbeat if they wanted to (which they probably don't, but you never know)

However, being someone with a pathological need to blog, I'm setting up a new blog.

Here's its adress:

www.myfirstname + mysurnameinitial (that's all one word) .wordpress.com

There's not much there now, it takes time.

If you don't know my name...and you blog, look out for a new expat Tennessean in the blogosphere - I'll be linking soon to a blog near you.

The worst part of my self-imposed blogging hiatus has been losing touch with the Tennessee blogosphere. I'm looking forward to jumping back in.

Azaleas along the stream

Azaleas along the stream, originally uploaded by London looks.

Truly one of the horticultural delights of the world - the azaleas in Isabella Plantation at Richmond Park in May. There are hundreds and hundreds of azaleas planted along stream beds and meandering paths - colors and varieties merging into one another, most of them 5 or 6 feet high.

It's hard to pick a peak day, as the different varieties bloom at slightly different times. But if we didn't hit it that golden moment, we came pretty close.

The nail game

The nail game, originally uploaded by London looks.

While we were off to Knoxville, my mother took Buddy out to see some family friends. He got to use the shop vac to pick up saw dust and they made a toy out of an old board and nails using the drill press.

The object of the game is to put the tiny, sharp nails in the holes. And then to take them out again.

Do not try this at home. Although he loved this toy - it was summarily donated to the City of Lawrenceburg landfill project.

G20 madness

I'm about to head into the belly of the beast that's London today. Anticipated disturbances and general G20 protest merriment. I've armed myself with water, a camera, and three forms of identification including my Royal Horticultural Society membership card which seems to have a calming effect on authoritarians everywhere.

An old friend in Seattle wished me luck and reminisced about the WTO meeting when he was accidentally teargassed.

Bankers in the City (where protests are centered today) were warned not to come in suited and booted. Apparently all of London is participating in a kind of fabulous dress down April Fool's Day (We should do that every year) My own sartorial statement tries to blur the boundaries between scruffy and respectable. No change there then.

Hopefully I won't have too many colorful stories to share later on today.
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And the PM smirked on

Love the quick flash to Gordo's smirking face.

Hen pecked

I probably should've taken the matter more firmly in hand. He was much more wary of the animals after that. He returned to the chickens later to throw bark chippings at them.

Pork shoulder roast

Pork shoulder roast, originally uploaded by London looks.

My first experiment with pulled pork. I think I cooked it six or seven hours. Seasoned with paprika, garlic and salt and pepper, slow roasted peppers and onions. I probably could have done a bit more seasoning, but the meet itself was perfectly done.