Dust. Dust everywhere. Dust up the river. Dust in the counting houses. Dust atop the rooftops and down the chimneys. Dust creeping into the collier-brigs, dust settling between the toes of the subway captain, and above in the yards of a great (and dusty) city. The fortune cookie that accompanied the newsboy’s take-out Beef Chow Fun last night read, EXPECT VACUUMING. The photographer dreads dust the way vampires (old school) fear garlic. He glides in across his dusty parquet like a thief and is put in mind of astronauts doing their bouncy-bouncy across the Mare Tranquillitatis, clouds of lunar poussière rising to envelope them to their shins.
Out of dust we are taken and to dust we shall return, at least until Monday. We had hoped The Garum Factory would be back to a full production schedule by now, the TGF team happily lounging about the factory terrace overlooking the Adriatic as we lunched alfresco on Burnt Wheat Cavatelli. What babes in the wiring woods we were! I’m afraid the enforced interregnum continues, at least until next Friday’s post, when all we have to fear are the painters.
We. Will. Be. Back.
JODY NOTES
Jody returns next week, perhaps with something to say about her trip to Haiti. Until then, relish your dust-free life. You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone.
Click on any picture to see a larger view.
The Garum Factory 
Oy.
I feel your pain…..
Not for much longer, I hope. Ken
Oy, indded. Back soon. Ken
Oh, I feel for you! I moved my family into a new home last fall and soon after we proceeded to dig into the walls to make unforeseen repairs to electric and plumbing. What a mess — cough cough. Most everything was still in boxes, but of course I’d unpacked the kitchen. I’m still finding bowls and odd things with a fine layer of dust on them…it creeps behind cabinet doors. I can relate about getting compulsive with the vacuum; I had mine in hand every day as the workers were headed out the door. I admire that you paused to compose some lovely images – there’s beauty in the disarray. Hope it’s over very soon!
The photos were a consolation prize. Thank you. The ordeal will end soon – and Jody’s experience in Haiti puts it in perspective. I’m not taking a machete to green coconuts in order to feed my kids. Ken
I know what you are going through.. yeech.. icky, have fun.. c
Thank you, Cecilia. Even bad things end if you hold your nose long enough. Ken
either that or you faint! c
Looking forward to reading about Haitian cuisine…! ^^
Check out our post on Pikliz, spicy fermented Haitian cabbage. I’ve been digging into our supply to use in chicken sandwiches this week. Ken
Strangely beautiful. If you displayed these pictures in a gallery they’d fetch a pretty penny. Look forward to your return. Sophie
They’re a break from my usual run of visual opportunities, which is nice, and since there are fewer of them I have more time to play with the editing. But thanks for the encouraging words – book the gallery, would you? I’m on the way over. Ken
No one waxes poetic about dust like you.
With nods to Charles Dickens and Genesis, but thank you. Since I didn’t have any food to write about I thought I at least had to make my excuses and visuals amusing. Ken
And yet your photos are still gorgeous. Good luck. Will be waiting with mouth watering for your guys’ next post!
Thank you, Amanda. I had a bit more time to play with the possibilities than I would with an ordinary post. Back to the cutting board next week (I hope, I hope, I hope). Ken
“We. Will. Be. Back.” This reminds me of Arnold Schwarzenegger in “The Terminator” (“I’ll be back!”). Very appropriate and witty, especially considering the (most unfortunate) wiring issues.
Wishing your home and wires a speedy recovery – and your vacuum a long and sturdy life. It’s going to get a workout! May your weekend by trouble-free.
Best, Shanna
Pure poetry. Dust is my arch enemy.
Thank you, Ellen. Not sure that dust would qualify as my arch-enemy, but he has temporarily taken possession of the field. Ken
We lived through 9-11pm roadworks for a couple of months last year. Which were followed by 8am on Sunday morning roadworks for a few more weeks (I was certain the same bit of road got dug up a few times so different bits of utilities wiring can be installed, one utility per week). Not quite the close quarters intimacy of your dust storm, but we learned the true meaning of that phrase about silence and gold. Good luck with the rest of it, look forward to TGF returning.
Relieved not to be in the same zip code . . .
I bet you are. :-) Ken
We have painters in at the moment, but they are banished from the kitchen. Hope this dust chapter soon passes and you can resume your wonderful cooking. Hang in there.
Thanks, Torie–We’re back next week. Fingers crossed. :-) Ken