The Lost TwentyEleven

TwentyEleven.

Not that it was lost, just hard to be lost in the thoughts of mint green in New York. I spent most of the rest of TwentyEleven on the road. Seattle, Chicago, Portland, Chattanooga, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Houston, Dallas, Waikiki Beach, Anaheim, San Diego, Sacramento, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Oakland, Phoenix, Washington D.C., Indianapolis, Charlotte, Los Angeles, Appleton, Milwaukee, and Wausau. But not to worry, whether I was here or not, life moved forward.

Thanks to a zany snowstorm, I went urban snowboarding:

Brett knitted his first scarf:

We went to the NYPD Museum:

After moving in early summer, I realized I'm within walking distance of the best view of lower Manhattan:

 

And unicorns:

For my birthday, Brett got me a new set of wheels:

 

During the threat of Hurricane Irene, I volunteered with CERT to help set-up a shelter:

 

And we cleared our deck of the all the plants:
 

Packed up our Go Bags and some emergency supplies on bikes and headed to higher ground:

Even Ody (on the back of the bike):

Who enjoyed playing board games until the storm passed:

We went camping in the Santa Cruz mountains with Brett's brother's family. I absolutely love this picture of everyone:

I met up with Brett in New Orleans and had a fancy dinner date:

We continued our fanciness and attended a ball:

Bruce the (mini) spruce joined our plant family and was the perfect Christmas tree:

TwentyEleven came to a end almost as quickly as it began. Not to worry, 2012 is moving right along.

April Showers

The temperatures are rising, but the occasional rain shower is falling. It's really nice to have weather where no wool coats and lined boots are required, but we're not quite to the point where one can bike in just a dress. The ladies at Let's Go Ride a Bike are also lamenting the tease of the weather. They featured my winter look last week on their blog. I have to say, I'm really looking forward to the LGRAB summer games this year. It'll be a nice way to reconnect with biking after all the work travel I have to do in the next few months. Oh summer! I'm excited!

Bridge Time

The first time I rode over the Manhattan bridge to work I fell. Hard. Blood. Boo-boos. Torn clothes. Sad face.

But... I did get up and finished the ride to work, and rode home.

It does make riding the bridge something that I'm always slightly apprehensive about. I'm glad to say the other night was one of my best rides over the bridge. Seemingly effortless and perfectly calm, the bridge proved the perfect place to stop and think about the my place in the city. Sometimes lost, but happily fumbling along. At present, I'm enjoying it.

It's Green!

I am very lucky that on occasion, Brett will let me join him at his studio and help on a project. My work mode is either running around at an event or sitting in front of a computer. There is something very calming about doing physical work, like sanding or painting. It relaxes me. I managed to take a Wednesday off, and bike down to his studio to work on a set of bookcases. He was insulating them and decided to use Green Fiber insulation:


My job was to fill the bookcases with the insulation:


It was really nifty because the insulation was obviously recycled materials including paper, foil, candy wrappers, and even the sticky part of a band-aid (don't worry, I was wearing gloves and a mask the whole time):


It's good to know that we are able to reuse old materials for things like insulation. It really means that as a society we have the ability to be more environmentally friendly in our building techniques, if only people would make the choice to do so.

I thought the whole green-themed building project was made even cuter by our pair of green jackets:

Footsteps

I sometimes forget how magical the city can feel. The moments when it exists solely for one person. Or even just two. Or possibly three. I love when the city is blanketed in snow. Perhaps it's the Californian in me that still gets excited when I see the snow (even piled up all dirty on the side of the sidewalk). There is something about the way the snow covers the city in a pure and wonderful state, and it really does seem magical. Whenever I have a moment with the city, I'm always taken to the scene in Guys and Dolls when Sky Masterson and Sarah Brown return from Havana and they are walking through Times Square sharing this exchange:

"It's dawn any minute."

"What makes the light so strange and white?"

"Because only in Times Square does the dawn gets turned on by an electrician."

"Listen."

"What?"

"Footsteps. Now is the time you can hear footsteps on Broadway."


In my magical moments, I always hear footsteps.

It's Friggin Frozen!

Oh. My. Goodness. It is cold out buster! What's a lady to do? I feel quite fortunate that even in the worst of the cold, it's an easy walk to the subway. And to be fair...the combination of the two modes of travel keep me on my toes. Riding a local line on a New York City subway during rush hour (heck, whenever) reminds me of Bill Cosby's routine "A Nut in Every Car"



Well, when I'm willing to brave biking through the big bad New York streets filled with dirty snow, cranky city folk, and the general frigid air... I find it completely lovely. The key is the right outfit. For graduating, Brett's parents gave me a Po Campo bag. I almost cried!

I LOVE my Po Campo!!

This is important because it is the basis for all the other pieces of my riding outfit. I found the coat to match and the boots followed:


I like looking like I'm dressed to ride. The right outfit can change a whole perspective. Of course, when the real nastiness of the winter sets in, I throw on those rainpants:

New Kicks

There are really a few times that I can say, I totally nailed a gift. But I would like to think that this is one of those times. Completely stumped as to what to give Brett for the holiday, my co-worker mentioned that he once painted shoes for his lady, and she loved them! Well, this worked out well because Brett needed new shoes, and I needed a new project. I took inspiration from some of his favorites.

Umberto Boccioni:


Cyclist 1913:


Wallabout Studios (his Etsy shop):


Jean-Michel Basquiat:



And if he puts his feet together, his initials appear:


Of course, he just makes the shoes look a zillion times better!