tv dinner nostalgia

so I came across this slideshow on nytimes.com. This guy used a CT scanner to scan in various objects (mostly his children's toys) and added color..."Inside Art" it's termed...well I saw the above image and I loved it..

The description: "This is the very first image I made using the CT scanner as my camera. It is a Swanson's Hungry Man fried chicken TV dinner. You can see the bones in the chicken as well as the corn in the brownie. I made this image in honor of Robert Heinecken." Photo: Satre Stuelke

So much of my childhood we had tv dinners for lunch during the summertime. Mom and Dad were at work and the family didn't have money to send my brothers and I to summer camps or anything - plus we were pretty insular and afraid of making new friends, so we kept to ourselves at home watching tv, playing video games, and other activities to fritter away our childhoods. I remember going to the grocery store with my mom once a week and picking out basic foods - including many tv dinners. I think my favorite was the fried chicken as pictured above, though the Salisbury steak hit the spot as well when I mixed up the corn, mashed potatoes, and gravy-licious steak all together. Throw in the cherry crumble dessert and the meal was complete (cherry crumble was not my favorite dessert). I think what got me with the above image was that there are two kernals of corn in the brownie and the photographer pointed that out in the description. Who can't relate to this? Swanson's Hungry-Man, Banquet...the mainstays. When club card savings or coupons permitted, we lived high on the hog on Marie Callender's pot pies or Stouffer's french bread pizzas...those were the days. To relish in nostalgia, or appreciate the fact that you're no longer in this boat (let's hope not), check the Single Man's Guide to TV Dinners.

In other news, I just ordered a hangboard with my REI dividend:

I'm not wild about the colors, but oh well, the point is to have something at home that I can easily do pull-ups with and build finger strength. I'm pretty excited about it - comes in a week. This maybe taking things too far, but this is what I do. Get excited about some new activity and hit it hard, only to have it fall by the wayside a year later. But I guess that keeps life interesting and lets you experience new activities right? God forbid I excel at any one skill in my life. I'm skipping climbing today - I think my arms need a bit of a rest. The last three days at the gym have been fun - I still climb alone mostly, but recently started going with Dan and his boys. I think I still prefer the solitary experience, but it is nice to nerd over on problems with others...

I volunteered at the bakery this morning, which means I'm tired and will be going home now before going out the the Green Frog Cafe for a Palouse happy hour. A fellow lab mate is playing his guitar this evening and a few of us are venturing out to support him. Should be fun - I've heard it's a great place to eat!
p.s. Hannah has been ridiculously cute recently...I mean really...she's a keeper...I think she's upping the cute factor because she's jealous of Dan..or maybe she just thinks she should start pulling her own weight in that department...unsure