Kitchen Mysteries

We have had more than our share of problems with appliances.  There was the KitchenAid coffeemaker issue.  WALL-E eventually stopped working and not long ago was replaced by a Bunn Phase Brew 8 cup coffeemaker.  That one didn't work very long but was still under warranty and Bunn sent us a new one that for the moment is working fine.

Then there's the dishwasher.  After the kitchen renovation we got a GE Monogram dishwasher which failed, spectacularly, on Thanksgiving Day in 2009.  When Tom refers to this episode, he usually says that the dishwasher caught on fire.  It did not, but I am fairly sure that something would have, eventually, if he hadn't turned off the circuit breaker.  So the day after Thanksgiving we went to Lowe's and purchased a Bosch dishwasher to replace it.  It's nice to look at, with lots of stainless steel, and is extremely quiet.  And it does a good job on the dishes, when it works.

Given our prior history with the previous dishwasher, we did purchase the 4 year extended warranty.  I can't even estimate how many service calls there have been for this dishwasher, which frequently will not start.  It's had the circuit board replaced several times.  Sometimes they blamed the problem on the wiring, which had been attacked by rats.  The last time they came for a service call, a couple of weeks ago, it worked fine when the repair guy was here, only to return to not starting as soon as he left.

Of course, having a dishwasher that won't start is preferable to having one that won't stop.  But having one that works would be even better and we've talked about whether to replace it now or wait until the extended warranty expires.  (I am sure Lowe's has it in their computer system to never offer us an extended warranty again.)

After the most recent round of attempted repairs, Tom spent some time on line researching Bosch dishwasher problems.  Somewhere -- I don't know where -- he found the tip that for our specific problem if you open the door at a specific point in the start up sequence that the dishwasher will in fact start.  And it does.

We have probably had repair people here from multiple different appliance repair companies here at least 6 times, maybe more, because intermittently the dishwasher will not start.  Nobody every told us that if we open the door at that particular point that it would start.  They've replaced circuit boards, told us to replace wiring, done all kinds of other things, but no one ever told us to open the door.  Which now we do, and so far it has worked.

When I was a kid, we had a dishwasher, and an automatic drip coffeemaker.  They both worked forever.  Is it us, or are appliances too complicated now with too many microcontrollers and circuit boards provided by the low bidder?  I thought it might be Atlanta's aging electrical grid; after the circuit board had to be replaced in the washing machine we got a housewide surge protector.  It is inexplicable.

But -- for the moment, anyway -- everything is working, and I have an excellent cup of coffee to start my day.

Civic Life in Atlanta: Grading on a Curve

Earlier this month The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta released a report on the state of civic life in Atlanta.  This report was based on an analysis the 2011 Current Population Survey for the Atlanta metropolitan region (there is a separate report that looks at the state of Georgia as a whole).

In the Atlanta area, 28% of respondants reported that they do formal volunteer work and 10% said that they work with neighbors to fix community problems.  Both of these proportions are higher than in most cities in the U.S., with Atlanta ranking 6th for formal volunteerism among the country's 51 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas, and 12th for working with neighbor to fix a community problem.  If 10% working with neighbors gets you 12th ranking overall, it must be really bad in a lot of places -- 10% seems quite low to me.  The volunteering that we do is most commonly done for (or perhaps through) religious and educational organizations.

41% of us participate in some kind of an organization.  Our participation is high, relative to other metropolitan areas, for participation in school groups (5th overall) and sports and recreation programs (11th).  This sounds right to me, given what I remember about when our kids were younger, with an expectation for a high degree of parental involvement in both school and extracurricular sports activities.  We may participate, but it's not necessarily because we want to.  According to the report, "there is less willingness among individuals to assume leadership responsibilities by holding an office or serving on a committee," with the Atlanta region ranking 35th in this category.

In the Atlanta area, we rank a dismal 34th for seeing or hearing regularly from family and 36th for eating regularly with others in the household.  The authors speculate that "this may reflect the region's long-standing status as an in-migration hub for job-seekers, especially young adults."  Maybe.  It also may reflect that so many people spend so much time driving (or at soccer practice).

In terms of electoral participation, 65% of us are registered to vote but only 47% of us voted in the previous mid-term election (27th and 22nd, respectively, compared to other metropolitan areas).  For local election voting, we are 34th, with only 31% of us voting.  But we are high for online political expression (9th), contacting public officials (13%), and making purchasing decisions for certain products (either to buy or not buy them) based on our personal values (12%).  I interpret this that we like to complain about things but we aren't very good at actually showing up at the ballot box.

What do they recommend we do about this?  The report ends with recommendations for increasing civic engagement, with lists of things individuals, nonprofits, funders, public officials, the media, and the private sector can do.  Most of this is totally in the non-rocket-science category.  "Invite your neighbors to dinner; introduce your neighbors to one another.  Begin a neighborhood project like a community garden or neighborhood watch...Begin a neighborhood listserv."  Show up.  Pay attention.  Say hello.  Put your neighbor's newspaper on their porch when they're out of town.

And don't just complain, but figure out which candidate you think is best for the job and vote.

The Cost of Sprawl

The work that was done in the neighborhood, funded by the Federal Safe Routes to School program, is now done or almost done.  Yesterday I saw the new high tech pedestrian crossing lights at Sussex and East Rock Springs, installed in time for the start of school next month.  The sod that was put down where intersection work was done looks great, thanks to all the rain; when they put it down a few months ago I figured it was doomed, since no one was going to water it, and it would fade to brown once the weather got hot -- I'm glad I was wrong.  But on the neighborhood email lists there's still grousing about loss of the right turn lane at Morningside and North Highland and new bike lanes on 10th Street are generating complaints, too.

The traffic is bad in Atlanta and we can't build our way out of it by building more roads -- even if there was the money to do it (which there isn't), extra lanes just generate more traffic and we end up with the same or greater level of congestion.  We have to drive less, and that's hard to do in a city with such limited transit options.  

Atlanta's sprawl and lack of transit options are especially bad for less well-off people.  Combine sprawl with lower-cost housing located far from where the jobs are, and if you doesn't have a reliable car to get to work, well, it's really hard to work.  It's not rocket science, but that was one of the findings in a new study that was highlighted in yesterday's New York Times.  Atlanta's geography is one of the factors that keeps poor people poor in Atlanta.

Our reliance on cars means state and local governments have to support a sprawling road network that does not generate enough tax revenue in many areas to be self-supporting.  It means employers have to plan for parking for their employees, which often means higher costs for them.  And if you don't have a car and you don't happen to live in a neighborhood where MARTA can get you where you need to go, you're just out of luck.

But here in Atlanta we just keep driving, and complaining about the traffic.

One Week in the Neighborhood

Last Wednesday night Tom and the girls were out of town, so Iain and I took in Food Truck Wednesday on North Highland.  This was our first time to try it and it was fun.  We got sandwiches from MIX’d UP and split an order of classic fries.  My lamb burger with tzatziki sauce was excellent, but with the large bun there seemed to be too much bread, so I just didn't eat all of it.  Iain got a spicy chicken sandwich that he said was quite good.  We hadn't brought folding chairs (note to self for next time) so we sat on the curb at the back of the parking lot.  Afterwards we got popsicles from King of Pops and ate them on the way home.

On Saturday Iain and I made our Saturday morning trip to Alon’s and the Morningside Farmer’s Market.  Lettuce and arugula and heritage zucchini and cherry tomatoes from Crystal Organic Farm, blueberries and green onions and tomatoes and giant banana peppers (or peppers that looked like giant banana peppers) from D & A Farm, and Italian sausage from Riverview Farms.

Later that morning I went looking for the other Little Free Library in the neighborhood; after I wrote about the one we found at Cumberland and Reeder, I heard from a neighbor that there was also one on North Pelham, and a few day earlier the girls told me they had spotted it and told me where to look for it.  So I found it, between Pine Ridge and the traffic circle, adjacent to the sidewalk and facing the street.

That afternoon the girls and I went to the Goat Farm Arts Center to hear part of the Chamber Cartel's performance of Erik Satie's Vexations.  No one really knows what Erik Satie envisioned when he wrote the three lines that constitute this piece and its accompanying instructions ("In order to play the theme 840 times in succession, it would be advisable to prepare oneself beforehand, and in the deepest silence, by serious immobilities"), but since the 1960s when John Cage and Lewis Lloyd organized a relay team of pianists for the work's first public performance, this has been interpreted to mean that Satie intended for the theme and its two variations to be played 840 times. According to the Chamber Cartel's program notes, "the piece was once attempted by a soloist who, having experienced intense hallucinations as a result, stopped after only 15 hours."

When we got there, Cecilia Trode and Chamber Cartel's Caleb Herron were playing.  At precisely 6 p.m., the musical baton (figuratively speaking) was passed to the Resile Quartet, a saxophone quartet.  The venue -- Goodson Yard at the Goat Farm Arts Center -- was gorgeous and the audience small but appreciative.

I decided I really wanted to be there for the end of the performance, so I went back late Sunday morning and heard Bora Moon, Johnny Brown, and Robert Marshall on clarinet, flute, and cello (not necessarily in that order); they were wonderful.  

Caleb Herron was back for the last hour (he actually played for 5 hours of the 24 hour performance) and was amazing, especially given he had not slept in over 24 hours.  He played the vibraphone (I think it's a vibraphone) with different mallets, then with bows like a string player would use, and finally with his hands, ending at precisely noon.  There was moment of silence between when the music stopped and we started to clap (no one wanted to be that awkward concertgoer who claps at the wrong time) but it was the right time and Mr. Herron looked happy but exhausted.  He said he was going to go home and get some sleep.

That night we made soup from the peppers that might or might not be banana peppers and a salad from our Farmers' Market lettuce, arugula, and tomatoes.  It was pretty good.  Afterwards Iain and I walked back to the Little Free Library at Cumberland and Reeder and I found a book I wanted to read.

Yesterday morning I walked to work, and there was a duck in the creek at Durand's Mill.  

So, it was a good week, except for my car getting totalled on Thursday.  But that's another post.

Real Food

Earlier this month we went to the First Friday event sponsored by the Zonolite businesses.  The rain stopped, mostly, in time for the event, which ended up being lots of fun.  We talked to Sally Sears at the South Fork Conservancy's display and I bought a T-shirt with the Nickle Bottom Community Garden logo on it.  I got a tomato plant from Habersham Gardens for signing up for their mailing list and we visited some of the businesses that were open that evening.  Ray Bowen was there, at Invictus Forge, but was out of propane so we didn't get to see him at work.  There was music at the Motorcar Studio and Tom spent some time talking to the team from the Atlanta Soto Zen Center.  We got food from the food trucks and enjoyed listening to David Payton in one of the Floataway buildings.

Gather &  Garnish had a sampler for one of their cook-it-yourself-from-locally-sourced-ingredients meal kits.  Caroline and I made it for dinner the following evening.  It was a real treat, the cold zucchini soup and salad with goat cheese and bread.  Everything but a few pantry staples (salt and pepper, olive oil, and so forth) came with the kit, and the instructions were good enough that even a less experienced cook could probably be successful with the meal.  Here's the zucchini and potatoes and onions cooking, before it was puréed into smooth green soup and and chilled.

We will probably try Garnish & Gather again later this summer; the kids will all be out of the house for a couple of weeks next month, and this is perfect for us as empty nesters.  But it also inspired me to try a little harder on shopping and cooking and meal planning.  The next evening we made the banana pepper and cashew soup recipe I had gotten from the Truly Living Well display at Streets Alive last year and that was delicious too.

This morning Iain and I went to Alon's and then the Morningside Farmer's Market, where we got lettuce and arugula, and heritage zucchini and blueberries and tomatoes.  And there were peppers that D & A Farm had, that looked like oversized banana peppers.  So we may try that cold zucchini soup again, and the banana pepper-cashew soup again this week.  I told the woman at the D & A Farm stand that I'd let her know how it came out.

It's not so hard, eating better.  And it's really better.

Something to Read

Iain is working on breaking in his new hiking boots, so this morning we headed off to Herbert Taylor Park.  He spotted it before I did, as we were walking down Cumberland toward North Highland, the Little Free Library at the intersection of Cumberland and Reeder.

Although I knew that there were some of these in the Atlanta area, this is the first one I'd seen, and it was a real treat to find it just a couple blocks from home.  Pop-up libraries are one of the ways people have re-purposed tiny bits of public space to better support neighborhoods and communities.  I don't know the story for how this particular pop-up library came to be in my neighborhood, but I was delighted to find it here.  

There are the books we keep (we have too many of those, in our house) and the books we read and then pass on to someone else or donate to Better World Books; we should go to the public library, but we don't, because it's too far to walk and it's not open on Sunday and book-buying is something we do for fun.  This morning I did look at the books in the box with the glass door and I didn't see anything I wanted to add to my already-too-tall pile of books I want to read.  But last weekend Iain cleaned out the large bookcase in his bedroom and right now we have two large boxes of books in our foyer, waiting to be passed on to someone with younger children.  So when we got back from our walk, I picked out a few and walked them up the street to add them to the collection.  

And the next time I'm walking by, I'll check again.  

Peachtree Street Alive

Atlanta Streets Alive, the wonderful Open Streets event that is sponsored in Atlanta by the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition, came to Peachtree Street on May 19.  The first Atlanta Streets Alive event I attended was last spring, when North Highland was closed to cars between Virginia Avenue and Inman Park.  Iain and I spent a Sunday afternoon exploring the neighborhood in a way I'd never seen it - it was amazing.  Then there was another one in the fall that included the same route but added the Beltline trail.  It was good to get people on the Beltline, and we enjoyed it, but there wasn't the density of bicycle hockey, performance art, and street food, with the event spread out over a longer route.

This spring the event -- now with major support from the City of Atlanta, thanks to Mayor Kasim Reed -- moved to Peachtree Street.  The route went from West Peachtree to Ellis Street, starting north of Woodruff Arts Center and ending downtown.  The weather had seemed to not be cooperating, with heavy rain forecast, but the rain was supposed to end by early afternoon, and by the time 2 p.m. came around, the rain had stopped.  So Iain and I packed up our rain jackets (just in case) and headed off.

The street closure at the north end of the route was confusing motorists -- a police officer was waving them to turn around but they seemed incredulous.  There was no one else there, at that point, but Iain and I walked down the middle of the street just because we could do it.  There wasn't much activity until we got close to Woodruff Arts Center.  The Museum of Design Atlanta had a bicycle decorating activity set up.  Since we were bikeless, we didn't stop but we appreciated the idea.  Nothing seemed to be going on at the Arts Center other than music playing through loud speakers.  At Colony Square, there was a stage and more amplified music, but nothing that looked like we wanted to stop and check it out.

On down the street, we had lemonade at the Atlanta Women's Club and took a tour.  I didn't know the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta was on Peachtree, but we walked by that and also by a FDA building that I also had never noticed.  There were performers outside the Laughing Skull.

We found a water station at 5th and Peachtree that hadn't been set up.  We (I guess that would more accurately be "I") decided to remedy that, so we set the table up, assembled the corrogated cardboard recycling containers, and took one of the empty 5 gallon water jugs across the street to the taqueria/bar across the street and asked them to fill it up with water for us.  They did and we had a completed water station as our contribution to the success of Atlanta Streets Alive -- and thanks to the guys at Escorpion for helping us out.

Our favorite Atlanta Streets Alive activity, Free Poems on Demand, was set up in front of the Fox Theater.  Jon Ciliberto took Iain's order for a poem about MARTA ("how bad it is" was what Iain said; I suggested a more positive approach of how much better it could be) and we continued on down the street.  

There was the REI climbing wall, food trucks near the section of the street that crossed the Downtown Connector, and tables and chairs where people were enjoying their food.  

We saw friends and neighbors on bicycles and browsed through the Army surplus store.

Outside the Shakespeare Tavern there were costumed actors but disappointingly no Shakespeare being performed on the sidewalk.

We counted churches on Peachtree (seven, as I recall) and marveled that on Atlanta's Main Street there were boarded up buildings.

On the way back we picked up our poem, which Jon read to us.  

Late in the afternoon the rain started again, but only lightly.  Most of us took out our rain jackets and umbrellas, but some people took refuge on the patios of bars and restaurants; they were full with people, watching the people walking with their dogs, riding their bikes, walking with friends and family.

No one walks on Peachtree; it's a street that the cars own. Except for a Sunday afternoon two weeks ago, when at the last minute the weather mostly cooperated and for just one afternoon we got to see the street how it might be, if only we had the will to do it.