Monday « Kenny Smith | A remarkable thing happens …

Monday

adventures / memories / Monday / photo / Washington — Comments Off
28
Jun 21

More of the Bell Trail

Can I milk blog content from a casual, long getaway weekend for longer than the weekend lasted? We’ve met, right?

We skipped town on June 18th for the Pacific Northwest. We were experiencing painful heat indices when we left. And we returned on the 23rd, to much more pleasant temperatures. And we left Washington just before their brutal heat wave arrived, as it turned out. The moral to the story, as ever, if you hear we’re traveling somewhere and you are similarly interested in the place, go early or reschedule. Something always pops up in those places while we are there or just after.

The government fell in Italy while we were there once. Sure, you say, that’s because it was Thursday. And you’re right! And, what’s more, no one even noticed. But there were also austerity protests and riots in the streets of Greece while we were there in that same trip. The Yankee was in Thailand during the 2010 uprising — 70 or so killed and hundreds wounded. She also went to South Korea during the last round of saber rattling. We routinely beat big storms out of somewhere we’re visiting. I’m not saying we caused Brexit or wild fires in Alaska, but they are at least coincidences.

These stories, and there are a lot of stories like this, have all been derived by tourist-type trips. I stopped following chaos in-person years ago after I left the news. (I deleted five sentences with one ancient anecdote here that can best be summed up as: I miss it, conditionality.)

So here we are. Taking careful mini-vacations like people do — or used to do, or like vaccinated people do, or whatever. And wherever we go, something like this follows soon after. The Smith effect and recency bias are very real. Witness these oppressive heatwaves in a part of the country that’s probably just not prepared for them.

But when we were there during the first part of last week, it was lovely. The area was uncrowded, the scenery inspiring, the forecast each day was derived straight from the Chamber of Commerce.

And if you just walk that direction, you’ll be on the beach.

The paths and sidewalks and parking lots were all clean. You don’t notice it until you do, and then you can’t not notice it. You might not want to live there, but they make a great effort to make you want to come back and visit. (They are successful at this. Were it not for the layover and a long flight I’d say we should go again tomorrow.) This is the path that we ran on by the Pacific Coast. I ran about eight miles on this thing.

We touched on the Bell Overlook last week. There’s a brief beginner’s trail to it. You’re not there for the trail. You’re there for the interpretation.

Gymnasts. They just can’t help themselves from interpreting things. She’s even got her toes pointed there. I checked.

The trail is paved and short, but it’s always a wonder to walk through the woods in the Pacific Northwest.

The view is what you’re there for, and it does not disappoint. And if you didn’t see this last week on the site what have you been doing with your time on the Internet? You need to catch up on the catching up because it is really important that you are caught up.

There are a few small battery positions on the trail. They command great views of the Pacific.

But the view inside was even better.

Is it still a photobomb if it is deliberate, rehearsed and several versions are taken?

We’ll have to find that out another day, but not tomorrow. Tomorrow, we’re going to check out the lighthouses. (I’ve charted this out, I’m getting at least two more days of blog posts out of this trip. Go to that part of the world if you can get a chance, is what I’m saying. It’s a pleasant experience. But wait for this heat wave to pass.)

bespoke / cycling / Monday / photo / video — Comments Off
14
Jun 21

These look fancy

This weekend I completed the last of my pocket square project. I have … way too many of these things now. But my breast pocket will always look colorful. It’s not quite homemade, not hardly bespoke and definitely not artisanal, but some of them will look good on me.

You know what I’ve learned recently? There isn’t a logical way to store and present pocket squares. The best option I’ve found so far involves rolling them all up. Think of a giant recipe box or a card catalog or something. Then again, I don’t think most people go into an accumulation stupor as I seem to have done. Just yesterday afternoon I added these eight to my collection. I’ve got the whole process down now, it takes very little time.

Good thing I’ve called the collection complete then, no? Most people think paisley is a gateway design, but I think it’s a moment of clarity. It says “You’ve used everything you like and you should stop.”

Of course, the ones that I’ve made are all cotton. I could try my hand at making some silk squares …

She said it, and I’d been thinking it, but listening to the cicadas has become a soothing thing. Seemed weird at first, and sure, if you find a big cluster it’s so loud it hurts. But if you’re hearing them from a distance, or from inside, the ebbs and flows have a certain enchantment.

Stay all summer, you guys. But stop trying to land on.

That recording doesn’t do them justice. But I might be looping it a lot, anyway.

We took a nice and casual bike ride this evening. This is at a turnaround spot, just under two-thirds of the way through the route.

We go this way a lot. And it is easy, after a time, to know where you’ll drag and where it’ll feel like you are flying. And while it was more former than the latter, I managed to set six Strava segment PRs in that particular portion of the ride.

So what we know is nothing, basically.

Here’s another installment of Barns By Bike, though. This has to be one of the nicest barns in the area.

I always wonder what is inside. I bet the floors are immaculate. I bet there isn’t the first streak on that glass. The glass alone should disqualify it from barn consideration. It’s probably less of a barn and more of a “Somebody finally got my spouse to agree to what I want” structure.

bespoke / Monday / photo — Comments Off
7
Jun 21

Monday cats and things

I put on all my cycling stuff and then looked outside and saw it had just started raining. Well then. Instead of having four things I wanted to accomplish, I suddenly had three. I don’t mind riding in the rain, if I’m already out and it starts to rain. That’s fun, and funny.

But it takes some doing, getting everything clean and dry at the end of that ride. Price of admittance, though. And you’re honoring Rule #9. Somewhat, that is. If I’d gone out, willfully turning the pedals just as the rain began, it would be a perfect expression of the rules.

But if you can stay dry, stay dry. That’s not a rule anyway, as far as I know, but maybe it oughta be.

So I stayed in and worked on one of the other three things. And, hey, one-third of one of those three things was accomplished. And here’s the proof.

So a few more sets of cufflinks, ready to adorn sleeves. Don’t they look nice? I especially like the pair on the bottom. This photo doesn’t really do them justice. And now I need more french cuff shirts. And then more cufflinks. And so you see how it spins out of control pretty quickly. When I get through with all of these I’ll have … way too many of these things.

Which is fine, because a project a bit further down the list of things to do is build something with which to hold all of my cufflinks.

So many projects, so little time.

The cats are no help with the many projects. But otherwise, they are fine. And to begin our weekly check with a cozy shot of Phoebe sleeping in her hammock seat.

Put something fuzzy in front of a window and she’s set.

Here she was, one recent evening, cuddling and … volunteering … for … something. Most assuredly she was not offering to help with any running project.

This is the way they’ve been lately. When one gets up the other immediately takes over. Like Poseidon, here, who has spent a lot of time curled up next to me the last few days.

He’s keen on taking naps on kneecaps.

Making this another week in which we won’t solve the mysteries of kitties.

Tomorrow, more progress! I’m trying a new thing: I’m talking my many projects into fruition! Let’s see how that goes for a while.

cycling / Monday / photo — Comments Off
31
May 21

Fruit enough

Is it possible to have a weekend where you don’t do the things you’d thought you might, but it still feels fruitful? I did get a lot of things off the DVR, after all. And I started on a few things that I’ve been meaning to get to. I made some cufflinks, after all. I am reworking my little business card carrier, too. That’s plenty, right?

No?

OK, fine. I had a pleasant bike ride this evening. Here’s one of the views of a field I went by.

And I took a shadow selfie.

I also had a bike ride Saturday. It was cold then. It was pleasant today. It’ll be gray and drab like five other months of the year here tomorrow, and I’ll have a run tomorrow. It’s fruitful enough.

A lack of doing something, I honestly believe, is not a bad thing, maybe it’s even a good thing. The problem is how often I can tell myself that. That thing you wanted to do will still be there tomorrow. And it will, as it has been.

That’s sometimes the problem, amirite?

The kitties are doing just great, thanks for asking. We have had a weekend of quality cuddling and napping and staring at the world outside and napping and being underfoot.

Phoebe is developing an affinity for baskets situated in unusual positions.

They love to hop into the baskets, of course. What a perfect device. They can see out from every side and feel protected and surrounded at the same time. I’m not sure what they are guarding themselves from in our dangerous, dangerous house. But who can argue with evolution?

Poseidon. Poseidon would argue. It’s in his nature. His argument on this particular occasion was “Why am I in here while you are out there? And I am judging you.”

“And you will not like my judgement.”

Seldom do, pal. Seldom do.

cycling / Monday / photo — Comments Off
24
May 21

The saying of the week

The weekend felt the appropriate length. It wasn’t too long, but it didn’t fly right by, you know? It was almost just right. Good porridge!

That’s not a saying, and you wonder why. It seems positively continental. ‘How was the train ride?’ Good porridge! ‘Did you see what the PM said?’ Good porridge!

Anyway, casual Friday evening. We had a spaghetti, with a tasteful, understated sauce. On Saturday we went for a bike ride. Warm sun! New roads! Positively misbehaving bike!

It just came back from the bike shop, where they put on a new chain and cables and a front derailleur. Mine was rusted solid and wouldn’t go from the big ring to the little ring. Only a problem on the big hills. And, after nine days in the shop, the bike was ready to ride, even if my legs weren’t. And I could swap from the big ring to the little ring with the satisfying KERRRRRRCHUNK that really signals “the bike shop put the good components on here.” (They did not.) But now I couldn’t swap from the little ring to the big ring. That’s only a problem after the big hills, which is why I was behind my lovely bride all day.

It was a nice few hours on the bike.

KERRRRRRCHUNK.

And so it was that we found ourselves on a new road and a detour sign. I rode up ahead to see if it was passable by bike. I saw a nice lady standing out there doing traffic stuff. Talk about a lonely job. This road was well out in the countryside and she was a quarter mile or so behind this sign.

And the construction was well down the road and out of site from where she was stationed. But she was hoping to go home soon. It was about that time in the afternoon and we had 21 miles yet to go …

It was slow, so of course I want to go back again and see if I can do it faster. But first I have to take my bicycle back to the bike shop.

Yesterday we watched a virtual bike race and then sat out under the shade of a giant umbrella and enjoyed a warm early-summer day and took a pleasant walk and turned a nice day into a relaxing evening. Good porridge!

And so we wrap up our start of the week by the routine check-in with the kitties. Poseidon enjoyed a long nap in this box on the cat tree yesterday:

And we see Phoebe here lounging on a buffet table:

Cat rules, so often- and so well-obeyed, must be a complete and total mystery to a cat. You can’t be on those elevated surfaces over there, because the big hairless cats get the bottle with the water, but these other surfaces, sure why not?

So rational are we, what must they think of us?

I’ll ask them. Maybe they’ll me this week. Maybe they’ve been trying to tell us for ages. They surely do chatter away a lot.

And so, it seems, have I. More tomorrow. I’ve got it all planned out and everything!

First you check me out on Twitter and then surf over Instagram. And did you know that Phoebe and Poseidon have an Instagram account? Phoebe and Poe have an Instagram account. See them, and then come back here tomorrow!