Dwight and I have become the “Drip Irrigation Mavens” for our building’s gardening club. We built dripper harnesses (6 drippers per planter, tubing, manifold) for two planters as a demonstration, and plan to roll out to six more planters this week.
Category: Living
Movie Night
Tonight, after braised sausage and cabbage (it is Sausage Saturday): “House of Gucci.”
Uncomfortable Art
The setup tonight at Orchestra Hall for the Minnesota Orchestra and a 90-voice choir. It’ll take time to process a piece written in 2015: “Seven Last Words of the Unarmed,” the last words of seven Black men who were killed by authority figures.
Pasties for Lunch
Today I was reminded how lard makes pastry light and flakey. Out cycling with a friend, stopped to pick up Cornish pasties at a serving hatch. Savored the melt-in-the-mouth crust and tasty filling upstairs and outside at a picnic table.
Fast Food
When Dwight was in his working years, I liked to welcome him home to weeknight meals that had an illusion of complexity. Tonight we had one of those quick weeknight meals. Rice from the rice cooker with veggies and tilapia cooked in a broth of coconut milk (from a can) with Thai curry paste (from…… Continue reading Fast Food
Gadgets
I enjoy gadgets. Today, I squealed with delight when my first WhatsApp message popped up on my watch and I replied with a tap of an OK button. Eat your heart out, Alexander Graham Bell. And heart is what this wearable gadget monitors for the next two weeks… just playing safe. I resisted asking if…… Continue reading Gadgets
Off-Peak Cycling
We cycled a loop: Hiawatha LRT Trail, Midtown Greenway, Chain of Lakes, Minnehaha Creek, back up the Mississippi. On a weekend, this route is busy, but not on a Monday. Stopped for a late lunch at Longfellow Grill, greeted by staff who’ve worked there since before the pandemic. Spring comes late here, and the section…… Continue reading Off-Peak Cycling
International Style
On my cycle ride, stopped to walk around the outside of this abandoned grain elevator to take in its undulating form. Silos like this started to be built in the early 1900’s. Their forms strongly influenced the International Style that emerged in the 1920’s and 1930’s. I’ll miss this bold structure when it’s replaced with…… Continue reading International Style
A Walk to San Francisco
In April we completed a multi-day, inn-to-inn hike across and down the Marin County peninsula, across the bay from San Francisco. We walked through Muir Woods and across the peninsula to the Pacific. We then crossed back to the Bay side before heading to downtown San Francisco. This was an easy adventure: each day we…… Continue reading A Walk to San Francisco
We Always Stop For Trains
Most weeks, when the weather is fair I go cycling with my friend, Dave. I always look forward to our bicycle adventures: we indulge our curiosity about the world around us, the conversation flows, and we get some exercise. Yesterday our cycle ride included the recently completed Robert Piram Trail in South St. Paul. When…… Continue reading We Always Stop For Trains