A tiny, hardscrabble new venture

I didn't always love where I live, Durham, NC. I was once so wrapped up in my own unhappiness, I couldn't see what was beautiful around me.

My entire card collection. Now for sale.

Last year I started pointing my iPhone camera at Durham and collecting the photos in a flickr set I called "Hardscrabble & Wondrous," a phrase Andy coined to describe Durham.

Red brick tobacco warehouse, Main St, Durham.

On a whim, I started to make little photo cards from the images, stamped with expressions about Durham in a 20th Century typewriter font. Really, just to amuse myself and send. But my wonderful, supportive friends (like Juline) told me they were lovely and encouraged me to sell these.

Since I'm pretty much always trying to create something, I thought, what the hell.

Bevy of bulls.

So, here they are, my little handmade photo cards on sale in a teeny, tiny etsy shop called Hardscrabble & Wondrous.  [Insert modest trumpet flourish & tell your friends!]

Backside of Main St.

Last thing I'll say about unhappiness:  It deforms every experience, every view into a kind of ugliness.

And it's worse when you realize that your unhappiness is entirely of your own making, that no one else is responsible for fighting against your misery but you. And still you soak and stew in it. And this knowledge makes the world even uglier -- and you more unhappy and uglier in it.

King of the bulls, downtown Durham.

I say, what a waste. Fight, mofos. Fight hard.