What's Green and Lugged and Not a Bicycle? An Unexpected New Addition!

All right, so some may know this already, but I received a tremendously generous gift for the holidays that is so beyond what I anticipated or deserved that I am almost ashamed to mention it. "Almost" being the operative term, as my excitement clearly surpasses my sense of shame or modesty. Plus I had to confess it sometime.

So, the gift: Well, it's green. It's lugged. But it's not a bike.... At least not yet.

It is a bicycle frame! Exciting and utterly unbelievable! Between this and the custom mixte frame (which is now awaiting paint), it looks like 2010 will be The Year of Building Up Frames. I suppose that's taking it to the next level from 2009, which was The Year of the First City Bike Purchase?

But enough rambling. I should really introduce you already. Who is this beauty, shimmering a pearlescent puke green that seems to have been custom-mixed for my bizarre aesthetic sensibilities?

Yes, who indeed?

Well, I will leave you to your own conclusions for now. But have no fear, an excruciatingly detailed post will follow. I just needed to get this off my chest. Happy weekend!

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Owls, Bears, Bicycles

In the Co-Habitant's words, our tree ended up looking "very organic," decorated with golden berries, wooden forest animals and round ornaments in shades of copper and gold. The bicycles seem to like it.

Happy holidays and enjoy your winter break!

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Happy Holidays!

The Co-Habitant and I celebrate four holidays during the Festivus season! - and since one of them is already in progress, our cats urged us to send everybody some warm wishes. They even agreed to pose for these photos inside my Pashley basket.

To give you a sense of the size of the basket, our kitties are Norwegian Forest Cats, which are almost as large as Maine Coons. One is black and white, and the other is brown. They have asked that we not reveal their identities, and as you can see they are a bit camera shy.

And here is Eustacia Vye in her entirety, bedecked in a festive red bow. The holiday season has been good to us so far and we now own some better quality digital cameras - which will, hopefully, lead to nicer bike pictures on this weblog. Having read the holiday wishlists posted on some of the bicycle blogs out there, I realise that I am actually pretty satiated in the velo department and have no bicycle themed items on my list. It is good to be happy with what you have... Either that, or I better get my thinking cap on!

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Friendly Witches and Scenic Graveyards

Was I a good witch or a bad witch for Halloween? Only Eustacia knows, and she is not talking. I rolled through the night with reflective sidewalls and plenty of lights on my bicycle, and I think only good witches do that. Bad ones tend to hide under the cover of darkness.

On this ghoulish night, I present you also with this photo of me and Marianne cycling through Provincetown Cemetery at dusk. I spent part of my childhood in a small New England town, where we lived down the street from a very old graveyard. Its presence seemed entirely normal; my friends and I would even take walks there after dark. Only later did I discover that graveyards freaked other people out. That and old Victorian houses with floorboards that creak even when no one is walking on them. Go figure!

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