Here’s why you shouldn’t plan your weekends

I had no plan when I headed to downtown Raleigh Saturday afternoon. I didn’t even glance at the Indy to see if anything was going on. I figured I’d find something on such a lovely day. Here’s how my random Raleighness unfolded:

First I saw signs for the Handmade Market on West Street, so I had to pull over and check it out. I’m glad I did b/c I snagged some rad, crafty jewelry, an awesome piece of art and this cool seahorse shirt from Sew Bliss Sew.

Then right up the street I noticed this huge beautiful American flag dangling over Dawson Street, so I had to see why it was there. Turns out there was a fallen firefighters memorial going on in the little square outside city hall. I was struck with how beautiful this flag looked as it flapped over the cars that passed by. It was entrancing. I started to head toward the Marbles Kids Museum because I wanted to check out that “Kids City Planning Day” meant to teach kids about the revision of Raleigh’s comprehensive plan. But before I got there, I spotted a rally on the Old Capitol grounds. Turned out it was a pro pot rally.

I finally made it over to the museum, and was impressed with the buildings the kids were creating out of boxes. Raleigh Planning Director Mitchell Silver looked like he was having as much fun as the kids building the box city. He’s the adult helping the kid attach the top of the building below: Then it was time to check out Vintage Nation, the new shop on Wilmington street that sells beautiful vintage dresses, skirts, shirts and pants at incredibly reasonable prices, along with houseplants and hip accessories. I was impressed. I’m told by the Raleigh Connoisseur that this marks the beginning of activity-packed weekends in downtown Raleigh. Sounds like it’s going to be a fun summer. See more pictures from my random Saturday on my Flickr.

Guess Where I Went to Lunch Today

I’ll give you a hint, it was in Raleigh at a restaurant where you’re served by a waitress. I had mushroom and onion angel hair pasta. I took a picture of this mural in the restaurant’s waiting area:

I’ll follow up on any guesses. Take a stab.

Drinking with Dinosaurs

If you want to see some Dinosaurs next week, head over to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh. The museum is sponsoring a free showing of the 1960-flick “Dinosaurs” at 7 p.m. Jan. 4. Click here for more details.

The featured movie is being aired as part of the museum’s First Friday event, which runs from 5 to 9 p.m. At the Jan. 4 event, visitors can check out the museum’s latest exhibit, “Dinosaurs: Ancient Fossils, New Discoveries” for a discounted $5 admission. You can buy beer and wine at the museum’s cafe and listen to the sounds of The Scarlet Divide, a local band that will perform at 6 p.m. Check out the band’s sound on its MySpace page.

Music, Art and African-American Santa Provide Last Minute Holiday Cheer

It seems nothing is free anymore. It even costs money to sit on Santa’s lap at the mall and tell him you want a puppy for Christmas. So it’s good to hear some Durham organizations are teaming up to sponsor free visits with Santa today and tomorrow in downtown Durham.

What’s more is that it’s possible that it’s the only public opportunity for kiddies to visit with an African-American Santa: “… our admission is FREE and we have the only African American Santa in the Triangle as best we can tell,” organizers said in the a news release I received earlier this week.

Santa will be on hand at the Multicultural Festival & Expo from 3 to 8 p.m. today and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Also on hand will be vendors with last-minute gifts, many of which are apparently under $5. Jazz artist jazz legend Stanley Baird and other performers will also be there. The event is at 108 Morris St. near the Durham Arts Council Building.

So if you love a bargain (anything that’s truly free is a bargain in my eyes), check it out and feel free to share your photos with me.

Gearing Up for a Christmas Alone

I bought a Christmas tree last night. Snagged it off clearance at a local fabric store for $15. It’s not exactly beautiful, but since it’s my first Christmas in Raleigh and yet another away from home, I felt like I needed to put something up.

I also set up my Christmas village. If you were one of the porcelain people living in my village, here’s what you would find: A train station (because porcelain people have places to go); a lighthouse (because you never know when you’ll lose your way) along with a bakery, toy shop and greenhouse (my porcelain people are apparently joining this ‘go green’ movement).

It might sound like a boring fake town to live in, but don’t worry I’ve got my porcelain peeps covered. There’s a tavern and a winery!

Dipping Hillary and George in your Toilet

Just when you think they’ve thought of everything, something like this comes along.

That’s right, a toilet brush shaped like Hillary Clinton. There’s also one for George W. and Osama Bin Laden, according to the “Original Bowl Buddy” Web site.

The political paraphernalia is being produced by a Raleigh-based company called Andrews Toolworks.

For $19.95, you can clean your toilet with this gaudy thing.

What will they think of next?

Enjoying the Arts in Apex

The growing Town of Apex reaches another landmark in its history next month. The town will officially open its new Halle Cultural Arts Center to the public at 10 a.m. Jan 11, according to a news release I read this morning.

Admittedly, this is the kind of event that I could have easily glossed over. I mean who associates Apex with the arts? Aside from having the letter ‘a’ in common, the two words don’t seem to fit. But I recently met up with a local Apex history buff, Bob Crowley, who is among the people working behind the scenes to bring this center to reality. He’s so jazzed about the project that it’s hard not to share in his enthusiasm. I blogged about some of the stuff he knows about Apex here, including that the town used to be known as “Log Pond.”

The arts center is located in the 1912 Apex Town Hall, located at 237 N. Salem St. in downtown Apex. The site is a national register historic property that has been restored to include studios, classrooms, galleries and a 135-seat theater. That’s a pretty good feat for a town that that has seen its population grow from 4,968 in 1990 to an estimated 30,208 in 2006, according to census.gov. The opening day event lasts until 8:30 p.m.

If you haven’t been to Apex, this event would no doubt provide a good orientation to yet another of the Triangle-area’s fast growing communities.

What Are You Thankful For?

I flew home to visit my family in southern Illinois for Thanksgiving. Before digging into gobs of turkey and trimmings, we took turns saying what we were thankful for. The responses were what you might expect: Being home for the holiday, good health, etc. Then it was my 13-year-old sister’s turn: “I’m thankful for my hair,” she said. I had dyed her brown locks dirty blonde the night before and, like, OMG when you’re 13 years old, having your hair colored is like totally awesome.

Anyway, I’m sure she’s thankful for a lot more than that. Just like I’m thankful for a hell of a lot more than making it home for Thanksgiving. And if I feel overly ambitious in the next few weeks, I might put it in writing to help out an Asheville artist.

Artist Damaris Pierce is launching a national postcard art project called “I am Thankful.” She wants people to decorate a postcard, jot down what they’re thankful for and then mail it to her Asheville studio. Apparently, she’ll decide which ones are worth displaying in public and on her Web site (which also has all the info you need to participate).

Among Pierce’s goals is to encourage people to express their thankfulness, she said in a news release I found waiting in my in-box this morning. (The postcard on the left comes from Pierce’s site).

“I believe when you focus on what you are thankful for each day you begin to live a more joyful, fulfilled and pleasurable life,” Pierce said. “I want to share this with others and create a public display of gratitude that ripples around the globe.”

It reminds me of the wildly successful PostSecret, an art project where people submit their secrets on a homemade postcard and ship it off to be posted on-line. Today’s postings include a picture of Wonder Woman with letters cut out ransom note-style saying: “I feel the need to be perfect in every way so my mother doesn’t regret not having an abortion.” Heavy stuff.