daily life...

If you live in Minneapolis there are two things

that enhance daily life.

Adam Turman's art and

The Current.

This year the two have combined,

check it out here.

I bought Bridges Blue/Red for H as a gift a few years ago.

Having this print in our house

is a daily reminder of what 

enhances 

life

in

Minneapolis.

Even when/Especially when,

my most dreaded season is upon us.

Summer Lovin'...

Summer is my favorite time of year.

I have not been here much,

and I am glad for it.

Because 

I have been soaking in

every

single

moment

of

Sun

and

warmth.

I plan to continue my

Summer Life,

and as time allows may stop in here

for a visit.

A few weeks ago

I planned a night

of enjoying

Summer,

our bicycles,

good food,

and new-to-us entertainment.

je ne sais quoi...

Untitled, 2005  fabric

The Art of Louise Bourgeois
moves me.
I have been enthralled 
since the first time I saw her works.
Really, really, really good art
is 
about being moved,
about a feeling,
about a certain 
je ne sais quoi.

home...

I have been to my fare share of cheesy Scandinavian Festivals,

And I am a recovering Museum Professional,

so I have lived many a day inside an Art Museum.

It takes a lot to impress me on either front.

So it was with slight reluctance

that I found myself 

on a cold February day a few years ago

at the American Swedish Institute

looking for something new

something special

something to take me away.

I fell in love instantly.

my (hyggelig) evolution...

Some of you may have noticed
that since my trip in January
I have been doing some tweaks to my hyggelig,
s-l-o-w-l-y...
I came back with many ideas,
but so little time...

very Alt...

1.  See Jane Blog letterpress card and 'gift' bag to hold business cards.  Jane was at My Wed. Night 'Dinner With'.  2. I Still Love You Bracelet and 'decal' - Melissa was at my Dinner With and kindly gave me a ride back to the hotel, which I appreciate since it was pouring rain!.  3.  Unstitched - Lillian was at my Round Table session on Friday morning and I loved her card 'gift' - the cutest accent of which was that tiny little paperclip. 

There is so much to say about Alt, 
I'm not really sure where to begin.
So I will begin at the beginning...


From the moment I landed at the airport,
life was very Alt.


What do I mean by very Alt?
Everyone introduced themselves,
Everyone said where they were from,
Everyone was HAPPY to be there,
and Everyone said why they were there.
That's Alt, 24/7.
The moment you sit down at a session, at lunch, at a party,
people say Hi and wrap you into the Alt culture of,
Let's be nice to each other, supportive, happy, and have a good time.

okay...

so that mini post turned into about 3 weeks of silence.
once again i question this space.
thinking a lot right now about some upcoming fun,
more about being there right now than here.
we'll see.
for now, this has inspired me.

dear little one...

photo credit: Camilla Engman
Image located here

In internet land
you feel like you get to 'know' people,
or in some cases
furry friends...
One of those bright spots in my days the last few years,
Morran, a dog from Sweden whose adventures knew no bounds,
has sadly passed on.

Thank you Camilla for sharing Morran.
Thank you Morran for, well, being you!

There is nothing like a furry friend.
Nothing.

In the last few months Camilla has been putting together an amazing book
with the help of some very talented people.
I hope when Camilla is ready to finish this project,
you will show your support.
Great submissions can be seen on Studio Morran.

From our past and present...

our hearts go out.

Rest in peace dear little one...

Camilla has a great Morran set on flickr.

mesmerizing...

There is nothing
about this
that I do not like.

and these shoes...
are you kidding me?!!!
they have me written ALL over them.
by far the most practical and beautiful
shoes
I have ever seen
at a fashion show.

And the music....
Soledad...
ahhhh...

booked...

Now to begin the fun part,
research...

Better get reading.

love it...

i do bikey things...

i do bikey things...
one of my recent bikey things
has been coordinating the launch of
the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition's very first t-shirt.

shameless plug:
the MBC has a membership deal going on right now
join
and get one of our t's for free.
sounds good eh?
if you live in Minneapolis -
do it
if you live anywhere else -
do it

it takes a lot to get a successful organization off the ground and running
i am proud to count myself as part of this group
i hope you will be too.

now back to regularly scheduled programming...

moments...

This just in from Marc ~ I had to share!
Somehow when you run parallel to someone on the blogosphere
for so long, you begin to share moments.
Happy Moments.
Sad Moments.
Proud Moments.
Special Moments.


This is a Moment.


Thank you Marc!
Well done.

good things make life better...

Late Summer Nights: Sunny on the way there. Dark on the way home.

we have had a LOVELY string of late SUMMER weather.
I had put on our schedules awhile ago a lecture I wanted to attend.
so I arrived home from work,
put on my favorite cycling skirt,
and off H and I went.

easy peasy parking - dusk to dark

there are many reasons why we rode our bicycles:
1. We live about 4 miles from the destination, an easy peddle on over.
2. Parking at the University is a pain and expensive, not so with a bicycle.
3. I needed to move my body.
4. It is a fun thing to do together, much more fun than sitting in the car.
5. With this gorgeous weather, how could one not want to get out and enjoy it?

I realized later that it was fitting I wore my favorite Japanese fabric skirt.
I want to make more of these skirts,
the waist is a little higher and I shortened the pattern to the perfect length,
both work swell when I feel the need to slip on bicycle shorts underneath
(like on a hot Summer's night going to a lecture when I didn't want sweat stains).

If you haven't noticed on this blog,
I have a thing for art, design, and architecture.
I also have a thing that's been brewing for awhile
for Japan.
I hope to continue to focus on those things here
because they are what make me me,
make my days more interesting,
stretch my brain,
and make the world a better place.

photo: Atelier Bow-Wow "Pony Garden"

Atelier Bow-Wow is my new favorite.
I learned so much at this lecture.
Most of all I appreciate their approach to architecture and space.
What a wonderful thing when the spaces we move in
change our behaviors for the better.
If we all could be so lucky to spend time in one of their spaces,
what a better place the world would be...

about more than the bicycle...

I am an absolute sucker for any move that plays over a minute
of an elegant French woman riding her bicycle around Corsica in a skirt
during the opening sequence.
I knew nothing of this movie
and initially the concept seemed odd ~ chess?
But not only was the bicycling beautiful, so was the message of the movie.
A seemingly simple path
does not mean a simple decision.
I loved it.
And yes,
I watched that opening sequence more than once...

Happy Saturday Everyone!
I am itching to go for a ride,
but Pups is begging for attention.
We will see what the day brings...
Sometimes life is about more than the bicycle.

I realized today I talk about movies more than I thought, so I have added a new movie label on the sidebar.
go here: movies

when pigs fly...

I am back from New York.
And something strange has happened to me.
I am actually glad to be 'home',
in Minnesota.

I have always felt
my ability to come 'home'
to Minneapolis,
and be happy about it,
would occur about at the same time pigs would fly.
Has five years beaten me down,
or has five years changed me?
NorCal will always be
where my heart is,
and I know someday I will go back.
But for now,
I am glad to be back where there is space,
where it is green,
and where I can freely ride my bicycle
all weekend long
to places that calm my heart.
Minneapolis has gotten a bit under my skin,
though a bit shocking,
not entirely surprising
given all that is good here.

Speaking of when pigs fly...
My co-op has a new mural.
It is fun,
light,
happy.
I want to hang out with that pig,
they've got it all goin' on!
I mean,
how cool is an overall-wearing,
backpack-toting,
pig on a bicycle?

Happy Friday Everyone!
Don't wait for pigs to fly,
make the most of where you are at now.
My plans are for lots of
bicycle happiness this weekend,
how about you?

savor every moment...

I am in New York for a few days.
All work,
likely no play.
The last time I was in New York
I arrived on this truck
with a few Chagall's
keeping me company.
That was unbelievably
nearly 7 years ago now.

Wow does life whiz by,
and oh how it changes.

Savor
every
moment.

i've fallen...

Out of Stock?!!!
Seriously?!!!!
But you JUST arrived.
OH Camper,
WHAT are you trying to DO to me?
I fall hard
and now I am left with nothing
but a broken heart.

PS I am in New York next week
I have mapped it ~ .9 walking miles
from my hotel
to the Camper store.
Don't think if I can break away from meetings,
I won't come looking for you...

hmmm...

Hmmmm...
Last night we went to Bike Night.
It was a lovely evening,
a lovely setting.

I loved the families on bikes,
the gals in their fun skirts and shoes,
bicycles, bicycles, everywhere,
the relaxed vibe,
the warmth,
the music,
the pure Summerness.

In my past life of museum work
I can not say I ever saw the doors of a museum
swung open for people to ride their bicycles through,
I have to say ~ that was cool.


But there was something about it all...
If a tree falls in the woods,
and no one is there to hear it,
does it make a sound?
If a person rides a bicycle,
wears their hipster clothes,
and does bikish things,
does that make them cool,
if no one is there to validate it?
And smoking?
Why was smoking allowed at this event?!!
Gross.
And the movie selections?
The ones I saw were frankly horrible.
Just because something somehow circles back to a bicycle
does not mean it is automatically cool, good, or sending a good message.
Either something is cool, good, or sending a good message,
or it isn't.
The MIA is a community place, this was a community event.
Sometimes we bicyclists can really alienate others from enjoying things,
we can be intimidating,
unwelcoming,
off-putting.
That's not what this even was all about,
but that element definitely exists at every bicycling event I attend.
Yes, that's what makes the world go round,
but can't we dig deeper to do better?

When you attend a bicycle specific event
what type of reactions do you have?
What do you think?
Does simply riding a bicycle
or being at a bicycle event
make you cool?
How do you define 'cool'?

For good or for bad, I have never found the herd
to be a place I find comfort and validation.
Sometimes bicycling makes me really happy,
Sometimes bicyclist do such great things,
sometimes a bicycle gathering can be really inspiring.
And sometimes bicyclists
and their gathering
can completely turn me off.
I do my bikish things because I want everyone to feel good on a bicycle.
I often ride alone because though a bicycle is a big part of who I am,
it is not all I am.

anyday...

I love Summer,
but the last couple of weeks have been challenging.
Rainforest humidity is not my thing.
Though I will take 116F heat indexes,
over -10F windchill
ANYDAY,
riding in the stuff is very taxing on the body.
So we have been inside far too much,
doing things like looking out the window longingly.
We have also found an interesting little film
to pass the time.
I love the beauty,
the quietness,
the tension between past and present.

I awoke to 72F today!
Can't wait to get out and ride tonight.

Celebrate the break in the weather
by attending the
MIA Bike Night tonight.