Microblog

Much chopping ensued.

Cycled right up to the counter of Sunshine Harvest Farm at the local farmers market to pick up a guilty pleasure: bacon sausages.

It’s still March, but dry and warm enough for this fair-weather cyclist to hit the trails with a friend. I love the variety of textures at this viewpoint.

Taunted my wanderlust: watched JAL and ANA safety videos on YouTube. I’m not planning on being allowed to freely travel within Japan before November. The last time I stepped off a plane was exactly one year ago today (ITO–HNL–ATL–MSP).

The grass was greening up in the rain when I paused at Prophecy of the Ancients in Gold Medal Park.

While running errands Downtown: a sign of impending normalcy.

I’m in high gear planning travel. Made the first reservation for a summer 2022 backpacking trip to Japan with our nephews (they’ll be 12 and 13) and their dad. We’ll explore less popular, more remote areas. On the way home, we’ll spend time in Hawaii where their mom will join us.

Without the benefit of long trips to remind me to deal with ingredients lurking in the freezer, declared this week to be Tip-the-Freezer week. Tonight: pot pie with fresh pea pods, next in line for the wok. I previously prepared the pie filling in the wok

Picked up my unnaturally clean bike, resplendent with new parts, from Freewheel Bike. Took it for a spin.

It was almost like normal times in our family bubble, together, indoors for the first time in over a year, feasting on turkey and ribs, slow-cooked in a smoker.

Wandered around the Minneapolis North Loop with a friend, staring at repurposed industrial buildings. Many of the modern buildings draw upon the ethos of the area. When this building (T3 Building) opened in 2016, it was the largest mass (laminated) timber building in the country.

At the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden snow had softened some shapes while accentuating others. A bronze figure had gained a skull cap and shawl.

Included some of my favorite indoor spaces on my Downtown walk. This was originally the banking hall for the Farmers and Mechanics Bank, my first bank when I arrived in Minneapolis. The original space is quite recognizable, although it’s now the lobby of a Westin.

Backed up all our files to an encrypted thumb drive which we’ll keep for ever. Files are backed up continuously, but I like to create a full snapshot of the data every now and then.

Added smarts to the ceiling fan over our bed. We can now control it from anywhere in the world with an Internet connection, solving a problem we didn’t have. More likely use cases include: control it by voice from bed, and turn it off automatically when when we leave our home.

Posted The Ministry.