Mangoes and Junk

I have been slowly recovering from being sick.  Everyone felt better for awhile, and then got very sick again.  I think it turned into a sinus infection for me, and I was sick all last week.  It wasn't until Saturday that I felt well enough to go out.

We had a failed expedition to the Repurpose Project.  I had never been there.  Anything that's actually nice has a crazy high price tag on it, and then there's also lots of creepy junk.  I know that rotting junk is hip - Satchels has made use of it.  It's nostalgic, and has artistic appeal.  For some reason I always think it's creepy.  I don't like looking at decaying seats, leaf-filled toilets and ripped open speakers.  The old dentist chairs looked psychotic, but maybe that's what everyone likes about it.

They had broken heartpine siding, with rusty nails sticking out of it, and lead paint for $2 a foot.  It's not so much for practical projects as artists who make junk sculptures or makeover random things into art; people who want to feel like they have dumpster-dived and gotten some good stuff, but don't actually want to get in the dumpster; and that privileged suburban hipster culture one sees frequenting it.  What the place needs is a tornado to sort it out.  They could never tie down all the stuff, and it would probably destroy the whole East side of Gainesville. *

 On the way back, we stopped by Mango Mike's on Waldo Road in Gainesville (thanks, Selma!!).  He has a mango orchard in the South.  Everyone has their own mango trees down there so it is difficult to sell them in mango season, but up here it is too cold, so everyone is happy for mangos.

We bought about 50 mangoes from him - they were cheap, and between the five or six different kinds that all taste different it was hard to decide.  We planned to freeze some and make chutney, but they got eaten in just a day.  There are only a couple left today, and they are still green.  We only just managed to make the chutney out of Sudha Koul's Curries Without Worries before they were gone.

*I know repurpose project is ultra-hip, and it's probably very uncool to be critical, but I had way too high expectations of it after hearing everyone's glowing praise.  If you want to find junk, there is certainly junk.  But if you are looking for anything useful, you might as well just go to a thrift store.  If you are looking for construction materials for a lower price....look somewhere else.  I'm sure it makes me unhip just to say it, but even their rusting, twisted roof metal pieces were freaking expensive, and honestly had already lived out their useful life.