no fruit for you!

gf and i went to the Andersonville farmers' market the other day. at one stand, we saw some lovely peaches, offered in small baskets of a half-dozen or so. i'm still rather low on my sugar intake, so i asked if we could buy just two peaches.

the woman said i had to ask "the farmer," and sent her over. i re-inquired, and got a question of my own: "will you be eating this by tomorrow?"

"yes, for breakfast," I replied.

she looked us over some.

"you keep this on the table," she said in her accent, which i couldn't place. "no refrigerator!"

we agreed to the conditions of the sale, and she agreed to sell us two peaches for $2.

they *were* good peaches...

is this what my lawn care people think of me?

this was the stamp used for my last bill.

the gti has arrive-ed!

... and now belongs to a very happy gf.

it was prepped with the 18" wheels, which we had previously negotiated away for a nice savings. so they had to swap on some 17" ones, which took ages. but imho the 17" ones both look and ride better.

it's a really good looking car, i think. and maybe i'm just a little bit jealous.

the bluening of my house has begun

not too shabby...

progress on the highspeed rail front, with Chicago as a hub?

link

An agreement signed today seeking to fast-track high-speed passenger rail projects in the Midwest has three powerful engines pulling in its favor: the Obama administration, the clout of congressional delegations from eight states and the support of the nation's freight railroads.

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin and the City of Chicago entered into a memorandum of understanding that commits the governments to coordinate plans to develop 110-mile-per-hour rail corridors across the Midwest.

[...]

Several governors mentioned President Barack Obama's strong support for the Midwest high-speed rail initiative, which would be comprised of a network based in Chicago and eventually branch out 3,000 miles over nine states.

But the first priority is to operate faster trains from Chicago to St. Louis; to Detroit/Pontiac; and to Milwaukee/Madison, Wis., within three to five years. Preliminary cost estimates total about $4 billion.

looks promising?

lifted, better photo

lifted!

Koni was having a sale on their shocks recently, so I grabbed a set of the oranges (aka STR.T) and had them installed. and i got lifted! i wasn't expecting that. it's a little hard to make out in the photo, but i'm some 1-2" higher.

so far, so good. handling seems better, ride is definitely improved, even though the (run of the mill) shocks i replaced were only a year old.