For Sale >>> The River House

As a child growing up in Troy, Ohio USA, I had always dreamed about living in the River House. It was situated right along our city's south levee, mere feet from the bike path and the Adams Street Bridge, across from the Troy City Park, Hobart Arena, Troy High School, the beautiful Riverside Graveyard, and a few block from the Library and our glorious (well if architecture's your bag) downtown square. Basically, if you were to live in Troy all of your life, this would be one of the most centrally located houses you could have, while being close enough to the Great Miami River to take up canoeing and act like your Earnest Hemingway stuck in small town life. Years later I've come to find out 119 Jackson St., the only house on Jackson St., has been for sale for years. Reality has set in and unfortunately the house is in a sad state of disrepair that might take a small fortune to fix. But even in that dilapidated condition, even the industrial smell of the cross-the-street Hobart plant, and the threat by Tony Frey of a rat-infested basement, if the price was right, I could see a refurbishing in my future. A man can dream. Momma said I has "vision."

Frank Lloyd Wright Porn

Ever since heading over to Springfield to see Frank Lloyd Wright's Wescott House, I've been obsessed with the guy. Hoping one day to make a two-week road-trip, stopping to see as many of his works as possible. I know there are a few other FLW obesessives who read her, so I thought it appropriate to post about the Robie House renovations going on in Chicago. First glancing over the pictures, Robie looks very similar to Wescott's prairie style design Wright was famous for popularizing in the Midwest, constantly contracted out in his early years by wealthy agriculture/industry barons looking to take their city to the next step in modernism. 

After looking over this very impressive and interactive site detailing the Robie renovations I can attest that this is almost identical to Westcott's living/dining room layout. No details here about when this is re-opening to the public, but given the attention to detail and workload that goes into one of his renovations, it will be well worth the visit. Maybe I'll hit up Buffalo instead this summer?

Winterpocalypse or Snowmageddon?

Not sure which of those two descriptors fits, but I honestly don't remember a winter like this since I was two years old (that was the Great Blizzard of 1978). What you see here was only the first drop. It got much much worse.

The Power's Out in the Heart of Man

If you notice my posts in bunches, it's because I'm behind. Way behind. I had absolutely no power last week. Talk about primitive futures. The dark ages are coming, and the windstorm was just a little shadow, a little taste. Those Republicans sure are tricky. What a time to have a financial crisis and a power outage?

I guess this episode of South Park was spot-on.

What you see above is Tuesday night, a true 48 hours after the power was gone. Time to rid the fridge, meat was Monday. Cheese was next. Here's our recipe for some damn good Amish Queso Dip:

1 Grill
Half Block of Dutch Smoke Gouda
Half Block of Grass-Fed New Zealand Extra Sharp Cheddar
Full Block of Wisconsin Sharp Cheedar
3 Slices of Colby-Jack
3 Slices of Swiss
2 Slice of Kraft American Cheese for good Measure
3 Fresh Garden Jalepenos (from the Elliott-Zagatto Garden)
2 Cans of Cuban Style Black Beans

Grill with gas heat until cheese resembles a dip, and cans of beans start boiling.
Mix
Serve with lime, fresh tomatoes, and blue-corn tortilla chips.

I bought a house.