Idaho Spud

Idaho Spud, a photo by Bret Baker on Flickr.

Maybe it's a Sign

Bicycle Characters

We met a lot of characters in Europe, and I'm not talking about our tour guide in Amsterdam that kept praising the queen for making it legal for him to have a stash of hash. I'm talking about the thousands of bikes we saw. The bicycles whose stories go unnoticed. It's crazy to think about what some of these bikes have been through.

Somethin' Like a Phenomenon (LL Cool J anyone?)

It's kinda cool when you encounter a phenomenon. Rarely can someone casually mention in a conversation, "yeah, I saw a phenomenon today." One of the phenomenons we saw in Europe I see almost every day of the winter in Alameda. It's called Raynaud's Phenomenon. It's a condition that causes discoloration of a person's phalanges. In Whitney's case the cold causes a vasoconstriction in her peripheral blood vessels (this is beginning to sound like a report I did in 8th grade). Now to the interesting part. Behold, the phenomenon.

Sun Seekers

We didn't plan on doing this in every picture, but the sun was so golden we just had to.

Lassen National Volcanic Park

Eternal Flame

Bikeamania

Bret and I have 5 bikes between the two of us, a bit excessive? Yes. But some of them were given to us and they all serve very important and different purposes. I obviously feel the need to justify our 5 bikes, but after spending some time in Europe, oh no no no. We are not bikeaholics, we are just Europeans at heart! These people like bikes. LOVE bikes. I think that was the most shocking thing about our trip. Everyone bikes, and everyone wears tailored suits and skirts and blazers while on their bikes.

Alley in Amsterdam

Notice the bicycle parking garage in the background.

Craft-cation

You may or may not remember that this is the Year of the Creative Mind. Things were lagging for the first few months, but we've kicked it up a few notches. If you are wondering where I've been, I've been on a craft-cation. I paint-stamped 285 muslin bags, watercolored stationary, did my first oil paint landscape scene, and sewed some floral garlands. Before you start getting impressed, any of these crafts could have been done by an 8 year old... but I still feel good for sticking with my theme of this year. 

Oh and I've also been trying to get creative in my outfit choices, instead of just wearing a hanes t-shirt and stretchy jeans every day. I'm chronicling it here: asktheduplex.blogspot.com

river walking

Lindsay and Gard came to visit a few weekends ago and before they got here it rained for about 28 days straight. The second it cleared  up I had the genius idea to go on a hike, and by hike I mean walking for 5 miles in water up to our calves. 

strike a pose

Bret likes to withhold information. He'll deny this and say that he just forgets to tell me things. I can tell you what he ate for lunch every day last week and about really dull conversations he had with people, but he'll forget to tell me things like, "A few weeks ago I got roped into a project at work and now my face is going to plastered in 1,000 Walmarts across America".

If you think that that is the only instance, it's not, I have a whole arsenal of them. One time after being married for awhile, and knowing each other for years, we were talking to a friend about rabies and Bret said, "Well when I was bit by a rabid dog, I just had to get a lot of shots." WHAT? How the heck do I know the name of every kid that lived on your block when you were seven but you forgot to tell me that in your early twenties you were bit by a rabid dog?!

I can't wait to see what else he has up his sleeve.