Last weekend, I went to the Rockaways for the first time since moving to New York. While the beach was beautiful, the town is still working hard to recover from Hurricane Sandy last year. If you haven’t ever made it out there, I’m sure the small businesses could use all the customers they can get. Go get a tan and a coke!
July 2013
Natalie Surfing at Rockaway Beach 92. July 2013.
In the middle of the extreme heat this weekend, some friends and I thought it would be a great idea to walk from Park Slope to Brooklyn Bridge Park and back. Of course, I rarely say no to a long walk, so along I went, even though it was 100+ degrees.
On our way back from the park, they said, “Let’s show her the street with the little doors.” My curiosity was piqued.
There is an entire block in Carroll Gardens, called Dennet Place where the doors are only 4 feet tall. My mind was pretty blown. Not only are the doors tiny, but they have tiny windows with tiny planters too.
Why? Who would make tiny doors for an entire row of houses? How have I missed this block on so many walks home?
I am not the only curious one. After spending ten minutes Googling the street, it seems that no one really knows why they are so small, but a few have found a few facts about the street.
I find Miranda July incredibly inspring. She recently started a new email series We Think Alone. She sends a weekly email with the sent emails of friends and acquaintances It’s incredible to read how people write emails to friends and loved ones.
Some of my favorite past projects by her include:
I came across this photo of her from photographer Daniel Boud. He asked her to write a piece of advice on her hand in eyeliner and this is what she wrote. Sometimes we just need a reminder from someone we admire to keep on truckin’.
Through the trees at Brooklyn Bridge Park.
July 2013
Fireworks, just because we can. June 2013 - Gasconade Hills Resort, Missouri.
I’ve been using the new VSCO Cam iPhone app to process photos and really love their presets. I just started my VSCO Grid at bekkapalmer.vsco.co. Do you have a grid? I would love to see more!
My dad found this photo of my Grandpa in a newspaper from 1934. It’s of my Grandpa next to a piece of furniture he built. The last place my dad remembers seeing this piece was in the garage attic of their Dixon house.
On a mission to find it my dad and I drove out to Dixon and knocked on the door of 302 Elm St. No one answered. A dog came from the backyard, barking at us.
A man pulled up in a truck with two kids in tow. He asked what we were doing. My dad pulled out the newspaper and explained. The man says he hadn’t seen anything like that in the attic. He then commented, “It’s probably worth a lot of money, huh?”
What we really wanted was an invitation inside, to see for ourselves. We explained that my Grandpa had built this house in the 50s. The man didn’t seem too interested.
We left, not surprised, but a little disappointed. We had a glimmer of hope that it would still be up in that attic, nearly 30 years after the last time anyone had seen it.
We stopped by every thrift shop in town (all three of them). They were all closed for the day, but I peered in the windows hoping for just a glimpse. We found nothing.
I daydreamed about breaking into that garage attic to have a look for myself.
Now, whenever I pass an antique shop, I’ll be looking, hoping to find this small part of our family that’s gone missing.
Update from my cousin Susan: “A note about Paul Palmer’s chest that Don was trying to locate – I stopped in one of the antique shops in Dixon – the one closest to the railroad tracks. It was divided into two small stores with an old fashioned barbershop in between. One held dishes and the other furniture. The dish shop was open and I described the chest to the owner. He said he was pretty sure he remembered the chest – he said the first day the furniture part of the store opened, a man came in and bought it. They have no idea who the man was. So…could have been the chest or maybe not.”
I spent last week on the Gasconade River for a family reunion. We floated down the river, found a family of armadillos, visited my grandmother’s grave, lit fireworks and had a generally great time. There was no cell phone reception at our cabins so a usually busy group just hung out for a whole week together.
Gasconade River, Missouri for a family reunion. June 2013.
