alleyways and doodles

     My walking plan has been a bit of a washout this week. Literally. The remnants of Hurricane Lee dumped day after day of rain on Richmond. Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE rain. I love not only rain but the gloominess that accompanies a nice stretch of wet weather and I really love all of the thunderstorms that we have had over the last few days...but...it's made walking a bit damp. And squishy. And not much fun.

Oliver and I did attempt it one evening when it seemed like the rain had let up. We got a block and a half from the house and the sky opened up and we got soaked.

     Today there was no rain. So we walked. Oliver is  doing  better, not as timid, but pulled at the leash terribly at times. To the point where I thought he was going to strangle himself. The boy has a lot to learn about walking. He'll get the hang of it I'm sure. But when he was not trying to tear down the alley at breakneck speed we did see some interesting things. And took pictures as proof. Today I used the lo-fi toy camera effect and the instant square frame on the droid.

 Still signs of Hurricane Irene all around.

 This is one of my favorite things in the whole neighborhood. I've photographed it multiple times. No rhyme or reason to it, it just appeals to me.

This is the Gumbo truck. I've never tried the gumbo but I hear it's good. They're open in the parking lot of the wine store near by every day. I'm going to have to try some sometime...

 And I'll have to make an exception to the alleys on one of these walks and photograph some of our fun local business in the neighborhood.

 I always get excited to see old furniture in the alley. Weird but true.

Money plants...I keep meaning to plant some of these. I have some seeds somewhere... I like how they turn almost translucent.

There are several cool old cars around here. Note the fuzzy dice on the rear view mirror on this one. Neato Daddy-O ;-)

Oliver was worn out but lived to tell the tale.

     And I didn't completely waste away my rain days by the way. I've been watching House on DVD (I'm up to season 4 and wishing that Dr. Chase was on more...) and doodling like crazy. Give me some markers and some paper and I can keep myself entertained for hours upon hours. Here are a few of my doodles, don't laugh!