Greensboro Daily Photo

R is for Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Whole Foods in Friendly Center is making an effort to educate the public about disposing of trash. Before us, we see three bins: 1) trash/landfill, 2) recycling, and 3) compost. This sorting helps us reduce, reuse, and recycle. Some items inevitably head to the landfill; however, there is plenty of waste that can be recycled or composted.  The City of Greensboro takes yard waste that can be composted. They now takes all plastic bottles and jugs numbered 1-7.* This is a more generous policy than we had in previous years, Whole Foods helps educate us on what exactly can be done with which items.  Greensboro has learned that nobody wants a garbage dump in their neighborhood, so the less trash that we have, the better off we all are. Every composted or recycled piece of trash makes a tremendous difference in what gets sent to the dump.

Today is ABC Wednesday and for our GO GREEN Greensboro series, "R" is for reduce, reuse, recycle! We can also add, "repurpose," that great effort to make something useful out of something that has outlived its usefulness. If you look closely on the wall, you can see that Whole Foods made decorations out of old wooden spools from local textile mills, a local, repurposed touch. 

 

*view the city's plastic recycling page here.

On Church Street

Church Street is changing before our eyes. This photo of the corner of Church Street and Pisgah Church (Lees Chapel)  Road shows one of the buildings of yesteryear. At one time, Church Super Market, was a barber shop with an older barber who would give his young clients mosquito houses. They were shaped like bird houses and about the size of a quarter. Likely, given the FOR RENT SIGN from last year, it is already something else and not inconceivable that the bilding will be torn down to become a 21st-century franchise. Don't you love the way the businesses are painted different colors? So clever and practical.

Canterbury School is located about a mile up the road and, beyond that, the Lake Jeanette neighborhoods. Just south, is Skateland East. Do you have any memories of this part of town? At one time, this area was strictly country. Now, it is strictly suburbs.

Lights, Camera, Action.... On Elm Street

Elm Street is the pulse of downtown Greensboro. The above reflection was taken while walking past the Blu Martini Bar. Of course martinis are the featured beverage at the establishment. However, it is also known for music and a light show. The dots of light in the center of the photo are constantly changing color and add such visual interest to the 300 block of Elm.

While we were outside capturing the aggregate of light, the bartender invited us inside to photograph. Somehow, at the end of the photo shoot, this shot with the vehicle zipping past and the reflection of windows, branches, and lights- against a backdrop of cement gray- is the one that won out. It seems to captures the dynamic feeling of this little slice of Elm Street. Can't you almost hear the photo? 

Cheers dear readers, may you have a great weekend. For the moms out there, Happy Mother's Day. Here's a virtual toast to you! We're sharing this post with Weekend Reflections where mirror images and playing around with light are de rigueur.........

The Phillips Collection at PTI

The Greensboro area is a great place to find furniture. With High Point just down the road, furniture abounds. According to the North Carolina Department of Commerce, the High Point Market is the largest furnishings industry trade show in the world, with the event bringing over 85,000 people to Guilford County every six months.*  Piedmont Triad International (PTI) Airport conveniently serves both Greensboro and High Point. The above photo, taken at PTI a while back, features trendy, modern furniture from the Phillips Collection. Their motto is "every piece a conversation" and looking at the items above, their motto seems to hold true. What conversation does the above furniture evoke for you? Do you like the transparent nod to nature? Could you imagine yourself conversing on river-rock seats and gilded wooden stump tables? What kind of flooring does it need? To be sure, the Phillips Collection is creative and we are lucky to have local access to these trend setters.

 

* reference here. Consider following the reference, especially if you are local. 

Bill Black Chevrolet Cadillac

If you are longtime readers of our blog, you know that we love family-owned businesses, especially ones that value history. Bill Black 's Chevrolet Cadillac dealership  is one such business. It first opened in 1955 on East Market Street in downtown Greensboro (also selling Oldsmobiles). Since 1966, they have been at their current location at 601 East Bessemer Avenue. In 2004, they purchased North State Chevrolet and, according to their website, kept many of the North State employees.   Their website has a paragraph on the dealership's history. We'd really be happy if they would also feature photos of the "good old days."  They are located on the edge of the Aycock Historic District, where homes look like they did decades ago. 

We're not sure if the dealership's flag was flying half mast on the day we drove by. We do know that Old Glory looked majestic as she rippled in the air, high above Bessemer and Yanceyville Avenues.

O is for Organic

The above photo features the organic produce section at Whole Foods in Friendly Shopping Center. With three supermarket-sized natural food stores in Greensboro, as well as numerous farmers' markets,  organic food is getting easier and easier to find. From Ashevilly to Kitty Hawk, here is an organic food store finder Google "ap" for North Carolina. Organic foods do not contain synthetic inputs, nor do they have pesticides. The organic, Green Food Revolution took hold in the 1940's and has been growing ever since. While there is controversy about whether organic food is better for you than commercially grown, conventional food, there is something wholesome about knowing your food hasn't been genetically modified or sprayed with chemicals. Let us remember, until the 20th century, the majority of farming was organic. Organic is the ORIGINAL, old-timey way to grow food.*

Today is ABC Wednesday and for this round, we're featuring A-Z GO GREEN Greensboro and "O" is for original, ordinary, and ORGANIC, the way grandma, and nature intended food to be. Yes, we know there are two sides to this story. AND, Greensboro has several businesses that rely on chemicals and chemical processes. Maybe for the next round of ABC Wednesday, we'll feature science of Greensboro. In the meantime, we're off to plant some organic chard in the yard! Happy ABC Wednesday!

*Wiki organic food reference.

The (Yummy) Great Escape

The GREAT ESCAPE food truck visited the Pottery Festival at the Yanceyville Farmers Curb Market this past weekend. Vendors and shoppers alike were able to enjoy gourmet noodles and crepes. This food truck is owned by three young entrepreneurs in Greensboro: Jon Bohlen, Sam Shumaker, and Dallas Baker. The three chefs have joined forces under one mobile roof! From the above link, you can follow Great Escape's calendar of where they will set up each day.

Greensboro is seeing the food truck industry grow and grow. Greensboro has many young adults (20's-30's) starting their own businesses-- like the owners of GREAT ESCAPE.  Whether the businness are online, small booths in larger facilities, or mobile like the above, the trend seems to be away from the burdensome overhead of brick and mortar.  For those who want a business: Dream big, start small, and who knows where your idea will take you..... In the meantime, see you in line at a food truck. Follow the sounds of the vehicles that sound like they are still running. Follow the aroma of great food!

Kirkwood Clay

Husband and wife potters Scott and Tiffany Hansman started Kirkwood Pottery together. They made their retail debut at the Yanceyville Farmers Curb Market yesterday at the annual pottery festivel. Kirkwood Pottery is made on a wheel and is sturdy, well-balanced, and ready to use. With their wide array of colors, Scott and Tiffany have made something to match every kitchen. They spend a great deal of time on the ergonomics of their pieces- especially perfecting handles -- and so the pieces are easy to use. In addition to vessels, they make clay earrings. Prices are extremely reasonable.  

Scott teaches English and Tiffany manages a wellness program. Likely, Scott can tell you about pottery across the centuries and everything that has ever been written about it and Tiffany can tell you what kind of nutritious meals to consume on the pottery plates. Let's hope that this is a profitable hobby that will continue to nurture their relationship for a long time. Congratulations on a great day at the pottery festival.

 

A Few Minutes of Solitude

In this hectic world, we seek moments to relax as the opportunities present themselves. In the above photo a man sits, reading at McDonald's Restaurant near Kohl's on Battleground. Azaleas have bloomed and crepe myrtles are coming back to life. The man appears to be seeking a little bit of peace and quiet before resuming his hectic schedule. The scene is Norman Rockwell-esque.

One great aspect of photography is that you can capture little slices of life that look so beautiful within the frame.  Yet on location, you hear the whirring of traffic on Westridge and Battleground Avenue. You see the clutter of cars parked in the lot and watch consumers dashing to spend their Kohl's bucks or heading to Village Tavern for lunch. For a brief moment, we enjoy the inviting image of a man, sitting alone with a giant McDrink, enjoying his  little slice of solitude.

After yesterday's stressful events in Boston, we could all benefit from a taking a few moments to relax and breathe in the beauty around us.

Time to Travel

Above, we share a photo of a woman who is sitting in Barnes & Noble Bookseller at Friendly Shopping Center. Likely, she is planning out a summer vacation or road trip. The woman seemed so interested in charting her route on the map. Sad will be the day is these brick and mortar bookstores exist no more. We can't imagine anything more intriguing than sitting in a bookstore, currounded by printed material.... dreaming... especially if there is a cup of coffee nearby.

We hope that the weather is nice this weekend and that you are planning something great to do- especially if it involves a good map and bookseller! In this era of mapquest and GPS, it is nice to know that there is at least one old-school, map reader among us! Happy Friday, dear readers.

 

 

Biscuitville Bowl 2013 a Blast

A HUGE thank you to all of the sponsors of the 2013 Greensboro Collegiate Biscuitville Bowl. The event is billed as, "a week-long celebration of Greensboro, North Carolina's thriving entrepreneurial community, its seven colleges and universities, and its 50,000 college students. Biscuitville, a locally-grown and scratch-made business is the title sponsor."  Good clean fun was had by all, especially Greensboro's seven higher education institutions: Bennett College, Elon University School of Law, Greensboro College, Guilford College, Guilford Technical Community College, North Carolina A & T State University, and The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Above, you see the Syngenta obstacle in front of the Cultural Arts Center and on the southern edge of Center City Park. As runners finished the other obstacles and the 5K race, they were sprayed with water, just before being hit with a blast of biscuit flour. What a great way to de-stress before gearing up for the end of the semester. The only thing that could possibly make the event better would be if Biscuitville could convince Garrison Keillor to MC and sing his Powdermilk Biscuit song from Prairie Home Companion ( http://youtu.be/RHz91b74QbY  ). To the right, greeted by Syngenta employees and their green balloons, an unidentified co-ed emerges from the biscuit flour and sails across the finish line.

The Zinc Kings

Banjo + Bass + Fiddle + Mandolin = String Band!  The Zink Kings are an old-time music band that plays around Greensboro at places that appreciate acoustic music- like Tate Street Coffee House. This past weekend, the Zink Kings performed at Earthfare Organic and Whole Foods Super Market on Battleground Avenue. They provided the entertainment during the supermarket's 'Burgers for Bucks' event. 

As the weather warms up and the days get longer, we will start to see more and more outdoor music events in Greensboro. And, the best part is that many of them are free. So, keep a lawn chair and your dancing shoes in your trunk. You never know when you will stumble upon one of these great events.

If you want to hear what the Zink Kings sound like, here is a link to a you tube video.

 

M is for Mulch

          Marshall Stone is a landscape business on Sandy Ridge Road, near the Farmers Market in Greensboro. They specialize in stone installations and outdoor living areas; however, they also have plenty of mulch. From what we can surmise online, the company is about seven years old and their primary markets are Virginia and North Carolina. The above Sandy Ridge location is fairly new. It has an attractive stone and water feature in the front of the business; however, today we are interested in their mulch piles.

         As you prepare your yards and gardens for the summer, remember, mulch is a fabulous addition to your landscape. Mulch keeps out weeds (which compete for nutrients) and it helps retain moisture in soil.  A good layer of mulch also optimizes root temperature-- cooler in summer and   warmer in winter.*  We are lucky in Greensboro. If you leave yard waste by the curb, the city hauls it away and converts it to mulch that can eventually be purchased. The Ingleside Facility in High Point accepts yard waste from private residences for free. Today is ABC Wednesday, and for this round of GO GREEN GREENSBORO, M is for mulch because it is a fabulous, recycled, organic material.

         
*If you want to learn more about mulch (types, advantages, concerns, money value), consider consulting 'Mulch for Dummies'. Not that we are dummies, but those catchy-titled books are now websites too (see here).

Early April at the Piedmont Triad Farmers Market

The Piedmont Triad Farmers Market on Sandy Ridge Road is starting to come alive again. Farmers are out with plants, trees, and some food items. With the Easter egg hunt behind them, the next big event is the Herb Festival on Saturday, April 20th from 8:00 am- 5:00 pm. Greenshouse Vegetable Day will be on Friday, April 26th from 1:00 am-1:00 pm. That event is sponsored by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and comes with a free tomato sandwich. The Piedmont Triad Farmers Market is one of five that is overseen by the N.C. Dept. of Agriculture. Steve Troxler is Commissioner of Agriculture. The mission statement for the organization is: (t)o provide services that promote and improve agriculture, agribusiness and forests; protect consumers and businesses; and conserve farmland and natural resources for the prosperity of all North Carolinians (reference). 

We heard a food segment on NPR the other day and they said that the closer children are to fresh fruits and vegetables (like tomatoes), the more likely they are to eat them; with the "closest" being to actually grow the food and to eat what is harvested. Parents were overheard teaching their young children this past Sunday, allowing them to have some choice in the plants purchased and another family allowing children to pick produce. The farmers market is such an educational place to spend an afternoon. Remember to consider planting as many edibles as possible. We already purchased our chard so that we can continue our tradition of chard in the yard and so fun to eat from the flower bed. Try it, Greensboro!

Otter Woodworks

Today's ride takes us to Browns Summit, just northeast of Greensboro (still in Guilford County). The colonial-red, wooden building has great provenance as it was formerly Browns Summit Broom Works, owned by the Reverend Fred Jones until 2001.* Likely, this simple rectangular building, located at 4601 E. Highway 150,  was something else long before it was a broom works.

At present, the building is the home of Otter Woodworks. The woodworkers bill themselves as designers and builders of handcrafted heirloom furniture, cabinets, and high end millwork. From looking at their Facebook page, Otter Woodworks seems to do fabulous work. Buildings like this one add so much character to our landscape. How wonderful that it is being maintained.

Happy Friday, folks. Let's hope these blue skies return soon!

 

*Rev. Jones' story is very interesting and available here.

7241 Burlington Road

Today, we are a few miles east of Greensboro, at 7241 Burlington Road, also known as Highway 70 and Wendover Avenue. The historic home is converted into the offices of Harris, Crouch, Long, Scott & Miller, Inc., who bill themselves as wealth preservationists. The lovely brick home, with the large front porch and sprawling yard evokes memories of the early 1800's when people were just starting to call Greensboro, and the surrounding area, home.

According to their website, the firm was started in 1967, but grew into all of its names by 1981. It is so wonderful to see these old homes being repurposed as businesses, as opposed to being torn down. We think we could spend several days on the above estate, especially at this time of year when spring presents a new gift daily.

Biltmore Hotel Sprucing up for Spring

Greensboro's Biltmore Hotel at 111 West Washington Street, just off of Elm St., looks like it is getting spruced up for spring; painting and a cleaning- at least the façade.  The Biltmore looks pretty good, especially in light of the fact that the building was constructed in 1895.

It wasn't the only thing getting cleaned/repaired last Friday. From Burlington to High Point, businesses were having work done on their roofs, painting trim, and washing windows. After all, it is time for spring cleaning. Now that the days are getting longer, you ought to consider putting First Friday on your agenda this week. Wonder if the Biltmore would let us have a peek inside. We're curious as to how much old world charm remains in the hotel.

Happy Monday, dear readers. 

Happy Easter

Happy Easter is one of the holiest days in the Christian calendar. Our spiritual Sunday photo takes us to Alamance Memorial Park on the Alamance/Guilford County lines- 15 miles due east of Greensboro. Easter weekend, has been extremely busy there. Families are out cleaning the graves of loved ones and replacing the flowers. In the photo above, if you look closely to the right of the small, white, flowering tree, two women are seated and working at a grave site.

The Easter/Passover season is a time of great reflection and a time to remember what our loved ones have experienced and sacrificed. As we heard one person say in the cemetery, "we pray to Jesus for the living and give thanks to Him for those who came before us." 

As Lent draws to a close, Christians are entering into a fifty day period called Eastertide. Do you or your friends observe Eastertide? To many, Easter is over on Sunday and, by Easter Monday, they have started counting down until Memorial Day. To others, there are seven more Sundays of observance. By then, even this tree in the cemetery will be green and teeming with life.

Food Truck at the Greensboro Children's Museum

Today, we're featuring the King Creole food truck. Yesterday, it was parked outside of the Greensboro Children's Museum, on Church Street, across from the Central Library. Allowing food trucks in downtown Greensboro has been controversial. People who own brick and mortar eating establishments are concerned that these meal mobiles will take away from their stationary eateries. What do you think?

Traffic was heavy all around Greensboro yesterday, perhaps because, for many, it is a three day weekend. Guilford County school students who are on a traditional calendar are celebrating spring break. People were out shopping for groceries and clothing. We hope that King Creole got enough business to make the day worth his while. It is nice to see businesses being successful, whether they are on wheels or solid foundations! The bright red truck sure does look festive in front of the already-colorful  museum.

Friendly Center Face Lift

The "Old" Friendly Center is getting a facelife. The above photo was taken on the side with Radio Shack, The Animal Clinic, Chuck E. Cheese, Catherine's, and the now-closed camera shop formerly known as Ritz. A new façade is in the making and we happened to catch a worker on a sunny day. The material on the front near the roofline just happened to match the sky perfectly, creating an optical illusion. In all, the renovations will take take as long as ten months and will cost upwards of ten million dollars- a million a month! This renovation will make the older, east side part look more like the new side of Friendly, with each store having a unique appearance, as opposed to the former, generic front with nothing more than signs to distintuish individual shops.* 

From the general contractor, D.H. Griffin, to sub-contractors, to building materials, Friendly Center is making a real effort to support local people, businesses, and agencies (read here). Seems like Friendly Center just keeps getting friendlier and friendlier.

*reference and more here. See before and after photos here.

J is for Juice Shop

Anybody who is trying to maintain a healthy diet, likely has participated in some sort of juice regimen for the purpose of cleansing or  providing nutritional supplements or adding antioxidants for health. Juice can be healthy or junky, depending on the quantity and quality. Today is ABC Wednesday. We've selected J for juice for our Go Green Greensboro series and have photographed the Juice Shop in Friendly Center. While there is not any stand out green factor from the Juice Shop (no solar panels,  recycled building materials, or LEED certification, etc. that we know of), they are worth mentioning for the following reasons.

Their business model is simple, one fairly-nutritious product, one size, cash only, good money value. The shop provides college scholarship money to employees who have worked there a certain number of hours. This is a locally owned business that has been giving back to the community and to employees way before all of those concepts were trendy. The Juice Shop opened in 1997 and is owned by Colin and Rick Streng. They have three stores: One on Lawndale; one in Friendly Center; one in Winston-Salem. Please stop by if you like smoothie/juice drinks that are yogurt-based. While you are there, look at the scholarship wall and thank them for this fine tradition. Hats off to Juice Shop and thank you, dear readers, for stopping by on J Day for Go Green Greensboro. See A-I here.

Stoney Mountain Farm

On Sunday, our ride out Highway 150 landed us at Stoney Mountain Farm in Alamance County. The Brewer family opened their farm to the public for their annual sheep sheering day. In the above photo, you see a professional shearer (on loan from West Virginia) getting the fleece from a sheep in two minutes. Once the shearer finished, he put the fleece in a 39 gallon garbage bag and untethered the sheep from between his knees. The sheep invariably did a quick run, a shimmy hop, and then headed back to their pack, unencumbered with their winter coat.

Stoney Mountain Farm has an eco-friendly, wool product line that they care for from the minute the wool starts growing on the sheep until it is shorn, carded, spun, and made into something special to wear. By chance, they have about the same number of sheep as they do acres (mid-60's) to tend. Typical of old, North Carolina farms, the Brewer's land has several outbuildings. Not so typical, one of the buildings is a house that was built in the 1800's. Above, you see the old barn where the sheep live. If you even get a chance to visit one of our area's working farms, we suggest taking advantage of the offer. A picture is worth a thousand words and a farm visit will yield a thousand pictures. That's a lot of fun. That's a lot of words....... and a lot of photos..........

 

I is for Individual

Yesterday, at Geeksboro Coffee House, we ran into our young, old-friend, Elizabeth Perrion. We first met Elizabeth several years ago when she was a Page High School student working at Earth Fare Supermarket. As a teenager, Elizabeth was health-conscious and loved talking about health and well-being with the store’s customers. Today, as a young adult, she is still passionate about healthful living. Now, Elizabeth works at Deep Roots Co-Op and is so excited about the opening of the new store. When she isn’t working, she attends GTTC, finishing an associates degree and hoping to continue her studies in nutrition, health, and wellness. 

 If you get a chance, stop by Deep Roots on North Eugene and let Elizabeth help you with your healthful living needs. With individuals like her, the younger generation may break the death-by-food cycle. For this round of ABC Wednesday, our theme is Go Green Greensboro. Greensboro can only be “green” and healthy if we have individuals who take health and wellness seriously. I is for individual citizens all doing what we can to keep our community healthy in every way. Elizabeth is one such INDIVIDUAL!

 

Deep Roots Co-Op

On March 20th, Deep Roots Co-Op will be opening at the location featured above, 600 North Eugene Street. While this isn't the most attractive photo of the building, we wanted to show you its location in relation to downtown. Look to the right and you can see the JP building and the downtown Marriott. The baseball stadium is just down the road. It will be interesting to see how having a grocery store downtown changes the dynamics of the area. The former location will be missed; however, the new store will be larger.

Deep Roots is member owned and it elects a board of directors from within the membership. It has by-laws and governance policies. They have principles, values, and green initiatives. They try to buy local, haven't used plastic bags in over four years, and they stock the most wholesome products possible.  Deep Roots started as a little buying club at Guilford College in the 1960's. Over fifty years later, the concept seems as relevant as ever.

Blue Oasis at Greenway at Fisher Park

The Greenway Apartments at Fisher Park have been built and people are already living in them. Here we see a photo of the swimming pool on the Smith Street side. On a hot summer day, we can't imagine anything finer than going for a swim before heading over to a baseball game. Poolside, without leaving home, residents will be able to enjoy the stadium's Friday night fireworks.

These 4.2 residential acres, that used to be part of North State Chevrolet, are less than a year old but already seem as if they have been part of the Greensboro landscape forever.  The apartments are a stone's throw from the downtown Greenwary and a mere block away from the new Deep Roots Coop. We've been thinking about purchasing a hybrid car this week. Even better, we could just live close to everything and walk. Soon, in Greensboro, it is going to start seeming like spring- and we're ready. Maybe we can rent a night on one of these lounge chairs and pretend like we are on a blue oasis...

Café Chairs at New York Pizza

We've been experiencing technical difficulties at GDP, but today, we think we are back online. Thank you faithful readers for not your patience. Today, the City Daily Photo theme is "café chairs". The café chairs we are sharing can be found at New York Pizza at the corner of Tate Street and Walker Avenue. Even more delightful than the chairs is the brilliant artwork at this establishment. How fun to eat among Pac-man and the riot of color. The scene makes an otherwise gray day feel a little brighter. Hats off to New York Pizza for their commitment  to the artwork. We were told it changed frequently. We'll need to stop by this weekend to see if that is, indeed, the case.

Happy weekend, folks. See you at First Friday!

Greensboro Music Company

The Greensboro Music Company, established in 1993,  is located at the corner of Paisley and Greene Streets.  The actual address is 500 North Greene Street. These days, small, one-story, houselike buildings are getting harder and harder to find downtown.  The architecture and the Carolina blue trim make the building memorable.  The Music Company specializes in buying, selling, and repairing musical instruments, amps, and just about anything that needs fixing.  Fisher Park Apartments and Orrell Designs are just a stone's throw away. The location is fabulous. The leafless tree on a cold winter day makes the seen look cold and desolate. Walk inside and the feeling is completely different.  Happy Monday! If you get a chance, drive around and see if you can find this building. Better yet, walk or bike.

Center for Creative Leadership

The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) was founded in 1970 by C. Smith Richardson, son of Lunsford Richardson who was the founder of Vick Chemical Company. It is located on North Battleground Avenue, Highway 220, just north of Bur-Mil Park. The CCL is an organization that addresses leadership capabilities of individuals and organizations. CCL offers leadership solutions from North America to Europe, Russia, and Asia. 

One of CCL's efforts is to help leaders and organizations create new knowledge, a crucial skill for navigating the 21st century. Their non-profit status allows them to be objective because they don't represent corporate private interests. How wonderful that we have this international resource, quietly changing the way we understand leadership, right here in our back yard. Just think, we owe it all to a family that gained international attention with a mentholated salve that has been bringing relief from congestion and illness since 1905.

Greensboro's CCL campus is really hard to photograph as much of it is hidden in a natural setting. Before Greensboro's urban sprawl, CCL seemed to be in the middle of "nowhere." (Take a virtual tour, here). Now, it just beyond the northern tip of town.

 

 

Super Bowl Fun!

Yesterday, the gray skies parted and Greensboro got a healthy dose of winter sunshine and some of the prettiest clouds ever.  Cold, sunny, winter days can be glorious.

From the looks of the box store parking lots (like this one on North Battleground), it seemed as if all of Greensboro were out buying snacks for Superbowl parties. Whether your team won or lost last night- or you didn't watch at all- hopefully, you can appreciate one of the few instances of the Nation coming together to watch a show simultaneously.  As for the Superbowl.... well..... you know a TV event must be important if it gets the Downton Abbey crowd recording the episode! 

As for Super Bowl XLVII, it could have used a little of that sunshine during the power outage.

Meredith Lindsay Becraft

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It has been a couple of months since we checked in on Meredith Becraft, the twenty-something traveler, ever in search of great items to resell and beautiful scenes to photograph. O. Henry Magazine wrote a nice article about Meredith this month. She has taken to the road in an old Airstream trailer in search of trash to turn to treasure. She takes outdated furniture, works a little artistic magic, with the help of a can of chalk paint, and turns the pieces into something that even the finest homes in Greensboro display. Above, Meredith is featured at the entrance of her Airstream. You can see a glimpse of her style in the rejuvenated interior. 

Meredith has a little bit of turtle in her and the Airstream is her shell. By day, she it out on a mysterious trail, heading in a direction that might be readily apparent only to her. By night, she is tucked neatly in her cozy, silver shell. If you are interested in keeping up with Meredith's adventures, you can follow her on Salvager Dolly. Alternatively, stop by Aubrey House on Old Battleground (near Southern Foods) and find out the latest news on this brave young woman. Hats off to following your dream, even if it means heading all the way to the west coast..... and back.

Pepsi Cola: Born in the Carolinas

Pepsi-Cola was born in the Carolinas; as a matter of fact, in North Carolina.

The above photo features the local distribution center on Spring Garden Street. It was introduced in 1893 as "Brad's Drink" by Caleb Bradham in his New Bern Pharmacy. The Pepsi prototype was a mixture of the enzyme pepsin and koala nuts, created to boost energy and to aid in digestion.* If this trivia website is correct, Pepsi was the first consumer product to have a slogan and to have a jingle, to have a celebrity endorser.

If you are interested, the Winston-Salem Pepsi office is looking for bilingual direct sales representatives: one fluent in Spanish; one in French;  and and one in Chinese.  So, to the students in the Guilford County Schools who study those languages, you might want to consider a career at Pepsi. You can stay close to home and use those language skills you worked so hard to acquire.  ¡Buena suerte!

*Read more Pepsi history, here.

got... Coffee Berries?

When the weather is cold and messy, we tend to spend a little more time inside. In Greensboro, on snowy days, if one waits until about 9:00 am, roads are fairly safe to navigate. By 9:00 am, the sun is usually shining brightly. Such was the case yesterday when we entered the Battleground Starbucks, located in the plaza with Earthfare. Thanks to the sunshine, we noticed the large coffee plant growing in the south facing window.

The above photo shows this plant with its coffee berries in all stages of ripening and the plant and berries are glorious. From creamy white to pink to raspberry to eggplant purple, the berries pop against the waxy green leaves. According to Starbucks' associates working yesterday, the plant has been in the store for at least a year- or the best they can recollect. Other customers in the store also marveled at the beauty of the ripening berries AND at the fact that none of us had noticed the 5' tree over the past year. Amazing how a change in weather affects what we notice.

Let's all go on a noticing spree this weekend and see what we uncover in our respective communities. If you are local, head to the Battleground Starbucks and see coffee growing. 

Pleasant Garden Drug Store

Continuing with the "sign" theme of Greensboro Daily Photo this week, for today's installment, we bring you Pleasant Garden Drug Store. In business since 1952, they bill themselves as "a modern pharmacy with a small town feel." This family pharmacy is one of those places that seems trapped in the mid-twentieth century. Do not be fooled, one look at their website will tell you that they can fill your prescription online. And, their prices are said to be the lowest in southeast Guilford County. This store, like a hometown hardware store, is one of those places where you can get little odds and ends that you can't find anywhere else. You can probably find some of the old-timey items like eye wash cups and netie pots to vaporizers and Greensboro's own Vicks VapoRub. You can also get state of the art products, too. Best of all, you get great advice from their three pharmacists. And, usually a little neighborhood news is available. It has been a while since we've seen a store sign that said nothing but-- DRUGS.

Old Signs on Vintage Buildings

    A repeat from yesterday's theme (old signs) is the sign above. The Beaman Building (photo here) at the the corner of Independence and Lawndale Drive near Target and the Kirkwood neighborhood, is one of our photos that still gets viewed a lot today. The building is classic 1964 architecture and may well be Greensboro's only remaining building with turquoise panels. Above, is a sign, located beside the building. We took this photo a while back and hope it still stands today. The aged patina looks beautiful in the winter sky against he ruddy, rusty treeline.

    Beaman Realty Company is located at 2820 Lawndale Drive. This old sign and building are located at 2014 Lawndale. We need to try to get by and learn more about the old company and to try to find out more about the old Sears Warehouse that used to be across the street. The more we investigate Greensboro, the more we realize we need to learn. After four years of this informal research, we just get curiouser and curiouser! How about you?

Carolina Office Machines

It was beautiful in Greensboro this weekend. A little fog, a little sun, a LOT of warmth. Here we see a photo of Carolina Office Machines on Mill Street, taken from the parking lot of Starbuck's. Winter skies are usually fabulous on sunny days, so keep your camera handy. Carolina Office Machines sells not only machines but also office furniture. We wish this local company had a little company history on their website. Part of the charm of buying local is knowing your proprietors. From the look of the signage, the company has been around for a while. Their lettering is fabulously bold and prominent in front of the buttery yellow building and against the blue sky. Carolina Office Machines might need to call Sign A Rama (another Greensboro company) and see about getting a new "C" since we don't live in AROLINA! Happy Monday, dear readers!

Social Status: Got Kicks?

There's a new kid on the South 600 block of Elm Street: Social Status. The store's main product is high end sneakers.  Those backlit lucite boxes on the wall house beautiful, name-brand tennis shoes, sneakers, or as the younger generation calls them, kicks. The store, on the same block with Elsewhere, Artmongerz, and Thrill of the Hunt and across the street from Mellow Mushroom, is configured like an upscale mall boutique. If you are in the market for hard-to-find kicks, this is your dream store. Social Status attracts yet another demographic to South Elm Street and a diverse city is a healthy city.

A Greensboro, middle-school music teacher told us a story once that she told her students they couldn't wear tennis shoes to perform at a concert. Students were shocked when they came wearing their best "kicks" and she explained they were out of dress code. In their mind, their fancy kicks were in a league above the basic white tennis shoes that their grandmothers wore; they were the most valuable article of clothing they owned. In the end, with this honest mistake, the teacher allowed them to perform. As we recall, she provided a photo demonstration to resolve the compliance issues before the next concert. If you need something to talk about with someone under 30, ask about their kicks. When making online purchases, they actually customize them.

Acme Comics

Acme Comics is a comic shop, located on Lawndale Drive, in the Irving Park Shopping Center. This comic book store has been thriving for 26 years and is a Greensboro icon. According to their website, they have over 50,000 comics in backstock, lots of action figures, new and vintage comic books. They were selected to host The Comic Book City Convention this October 26th and 27th. This is a big deal for Acme Comics, as well as for Greensboro. The convention will also be great for nearby coffee shop, Geeksboro. We applaud people who follow their dream and open businesses related to their personal interests. 

In 2013, we're encouraging the citizens of Greensboro to patronize local businesses they've never visited before. Chances are, if you are a comic/action figure lover you have already been to Acme Comics. This is one genre of print that seems to be surviving the conversion to digital print.

... (Conversation recently overheard in the store) Holy atomic pile, Batman! Holy costume party, Robin!  We're in the right place and we look great in print! 

Xtra Xtra, Read All About It

In 1982, a newspaper known by the name News & Record was first delivered to the Greensboro community. However, Greensboro's print journalism history was first made in 1890 with the printing of the Daily Record. The Daily Record was owned at one time by Juilan Price, the man who at one time also owned Jefferson Standard Life Insurance Company, making Mr. Price one of the most influential men in the Piedmont during his day. In 1809, the Greensboro Daily News was founded, giving our community a morning and afternoon newspaper. From 1982-1986, the Greensboro community supported two newspapers. In 1986, competing newspapers were gone and The News & Record emerged as the sole daily newspaper for the community. The above facility, a city block of newspaper history, past, present, and future, was completed in 1976, on the site of the old King Cotton Hotel.*

Today is ABC Wednesday and, for this round, we've been featuring neighbohroods. For X, in the absence of an X neighborhood, we're featuring the newspaper. Two-hundred East Market Street, at the corner of Davie St.,  is the "x marks the spot' place from which news radiates to ALL the communities of Greensboro.The newspaper is in every community- in print and digitally.  Thick or thin, the News & Record is an invaluable clearninghouse of news, information, events, and ideas. A newspaper is more than ink, paper, and coupons. It is a community's shared discourse. Papers give communities a common frame of reference and tell us what others deem important and newsworthy. Without a common source of printed information, a community struggles to define itself. As the younger generation goes digitial and seeks out their own, disparate news sources, we need to find a way to keep them informed about what is actually happening in their own community and from the perspective of people in their community- even if they disagree with the views presented. A local paper, printed or digital, grounds us to each other. The News & Record is more than the sum of its parts; it is Greensboro's ANCHOR.

Today is ABC Wednesday and, X is for X-tra X-tra read all about it. We're asking you for a one day moratirium on saying "I saw on FACEBOOK...," and  to use as your conversation starter, "I read in the News & Record, that......"

* reference, here.

See our ABC Wednesday A-W neighborhoods of Greensboro, here.

Shopping Madness

In vertical cities like Hong Kong, you expect to see people all around and on different levels. In Greensboro, one of the few places to have that sensation is at Four Season's Town Center on High Point Road. The three story mall (one million square feet of shopping) is the only indoor shopping mall in the Greensboro area.  This facility, developed by Joseph S. Koury, opened in 1974. It has long outlived the Carolina Circle Mall which opened in 1976 and closed in 2002.

One of the (many) nice things about Four Seasons is that they frequently host community events. Since this is the last weekend before Christmas, shopping is starting to get a little frenzied. Likely, all energy at Four Seasons will be getting desperate shoppers through these final days, with community events on hold. If the Mayan calendar is wrong, we plan on doing a little shopping here. If you are interested in learning more about Four seasons, the history of Four Seasons has a Wikipedia entry (here).

Geeksboro Coffee Shop

    Greensboro's newest indy coffee shop, GEEKSBORO, is located in Irving Park, near William Mangum's gallery and Elizabeth's Pizza. Since Acme Comics is nearby, it is not uncommon to see people in Geeksboro swapping out their comic books. Also seen are people playing "old school" video games and participating in fantasy, role playing games. Last time we were there, we sat next to a man, with his box of categorized cards, who was explaining every detail of villans, players, powers, and battlegrounds to a new player. Geeksboro is like that.... you can see experts interacting with experts and experts mentoring novice players in wargaming and fantasy settings while carrying on conversations about very specific aspects of science that not everyone can understand. It is as if the geekiness and intellect of the sitcom Big Bang Theory has come to life. Perhaps our favorite aspect of Geeksboro is the movie theatre in the basement where indy movies and documentaries are shown. They even show the CBS Sunday Morning Show with Charles Osgood.

    Owner Joe Scott works really hard to help everyone feel welcome, regardless of general interests and level of geekiness. He said that even in his dorm room, during his college days, he would attract people interested in comics, fantasy sci-fi, card and board games. Often, people he had never seen before would come. He wants to maintain that inviting atmosphere in Geeksboro. The shop is much like a TARDIS-- bigger on the inside that it appears from the outside. One of the best ways to keep up with the coffee house is to follow them on Facebook. One of the best ways to experience it is to put on your nicest Pac-Man shirt and head on down for a cup of fresh coffee.