Starring Nobody

I took on a touch too much this weekend. Huge group at work, cooking for 150 hungry black belts, rush out for a lap on the project with Lee and Sam, dash to Brissy for photos with The Red Phoenix Style team (AKA my twin daughters), back to work for Ethical Pickles production team (Yaana and Sandra) and more.

Let's just say corners were cut. Things were compromised. Mistakes were made.

But the results were fab.

Celebrity blogger "Starring Nobody" AKA Kirsten Morrison modeled some stunning threads by some totally important designers.

But this is not one of them. Lotus picked up this sparkly number in the op shop for 10 bucks. That's immersion quality clothing. And in she went.











The whole shoot was for the client "The French Peg" a sweet little Paddington boutique.

But this is not that.








Climbers, it's possible you are getting a pre-release peek at The Red Phoenix Emporium collection of necklaces and earrings "Nature in Neon"

This cowboy blogger never checks permissions. No time.








Adrift.































The style team at jjobrienclimbing are totally and utterly impressed with the new collection, seriously I don't know how those girls keep hitting the trend bang on.








Kirsten looks superb in this rig, confirming the fact that an RPE necklace will make a $10 dress look a million. That's a fact.








Snapped between shivering bouts. Kirsten is die hard dedicated to style.






Is the collection online yet? Keep checking Red Phoenix Emporium or drop into The French Peg


2/237 Given Tce, Paddington Brisbane.








There is nothing this girl has not covered in style on her blog starring-nobody.blogspot.com

Thank you Kirsten, Lotus, Willow and all for another amazing shoot.




jj

National Character

While many countries are rich in bicycle heritage, some have particularly strong associations with distinct styles of bikes: the Netherlands with the omafiets and the bakfiets, France with the mixte, porteur and randonneur, England with the roadster and the elaborately lugged "lightweight," Italy with the Frascona curve and the racing bike, the US with the cruiser and the mountain bike. Far from arbitrary, these connections can be revealing about the history and the cultural values of the country where each design developed, and this aspect is always interesting for me.





Some connections are obvious, while others more subtle. Why for instance, did some countries (England, Holland) favour the loop frame design for step-through bicycles, while the swan frame is the dominant design in others (Sweden, Austria)? Did it have to do with women's fashions at the time these bicycles were developed?What accounts for the development of low trail vs mid/high-trail geometry and the tradition to carry luggage on the front vs on the rear? There is nothing I can think of that is country-specific that would explain this. And what about the early preference of derailleurs to internally geared hubs in France, even on city bicycles? Things like this are constantly going through my mind when I look at different bicycles and think about their history.






When it comes to building bicycles today, the national characteristics of a particular design continue to play a role, while also meshing with other traditions. European manufacturers have used American mountain bikes for inspiration. American builders and manufacturers have used Dutch bikes and French porteurs for inspiration. The end product inevitably reflects an interesting mix of historical traditions and cultural values.







As I was working on, then riding, and then writing about the Randonneur over the past 8 months, I keep thinking how interesting it was that this old French design is now thriving (relatively speaking of course) in the US, with fairly minor modifications from the original. I suppose it makes sense: There is lots of land here, lots of places to travel, and Americans value speed - hence the growing popularity of randonneuring. Add to that the custom bicycle boom, and suddenly American framebuilders - for whom only three years ago "clearance for wide tires" meant 28mm - are building 650Bx40mm bikes with elaborate custom racks and cantilever brake bosses - an entirely normal feature now thanks to the popularity of cyclocross.Since American culture is a mish-mash of other traditions, it seems only natural that US builders are inspired by French, or Italian, or Dutch bikes. But what about a country with a very distinct tradition of its own?Can you see a low trailrandonneuring bicycle made by an English builder, or is that too strange? I've been discussing a possible project with Mercian Cycles, and if it works it could be interesting in that respect. The national character of bicycles is increasingly fluid and playful, and some traditions are kept alive through other countries' takes on them.

What a View!

Tuesday, June 7th - - Man joined us for lunch again – this time we went to The Pantry at The Lions House. We all selected the “Coca Cola Roast Pork” and were not disappointed. It was so tender you could cut it with a fork and it was scrumptious. The food here in Salt Lake City has been excellent!



After lunch, and even though it was my next-to-last day of research, Man insisted that we take in the view from the 27th floor of the Church Office Building. It was definitely well worth the time. The weather couldn't have been much better.





Looking west and a little south with The Temple in the foreground and the Tabernacle (oblong , shiney building) behind it. And behind the Tabernacle is the Family History Library. The tall building south of the Library is the Plaza Hotel.





Looking west along North Temple Street. The building to the right of the Tabernacle is the North Visitors Center. Off in the distance is the Great Salt Lake. If you look closely in the pictures below, it appears as a narrow strip of light blue running along the base of the mountains.





Looking west and a little north. The building on the right, with the trees on the roof, is the Conference Center.





Looking toward the northwest.



Looking north toward the Capital Building.



The view to the east. North Temple Street on the left and South Temple Street on the right. The campus of the University of Utah stretches along the foot of the mountains.





And, finally, a view to the southeast.

What Makes a Bicycle Shop Good?

A couple of weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to discover Open Bicycle in Somerville, Mass. Recognising a good bicycle shop is similar to meeting a person you really like for the first time: It's hard to describe the feeling, but when it's there you know it. That is how I felt when I walked into Open Bicycle.



Open can best be described as a bicycle shop, art gallery and community project in one -- executed in the most unpretentious and inviting way possible. In addition to the regular bike shop stuff, there is a lounge area with a sofa and coffee table, and an adjacent exhibition space that is home to the Chorus Gallery. The cavernous shop is softly lit and exudes a club-house coziness. The merchandise is lovingly arranged and placed on display like specimens of a precious personal collection.



A gorgeous display case of saddles, hubs and cranksets.



Nitto handlebars.



Hand-sewn leather U-Lock cozies!



A treasure chest of grips.



Leather helmets!



A lovely tool-wrap and wool socks. Other products include crocheted gloves, leather toe clips, cycling shoes, messenger bags, and clothing. The items for sale sport typewritten tags, and some are wrapped in twine like little gifts. Even if you are not looking to buy anything, just viewing these things is an aesthetic treat.



Oh yes: and they sell bicycles too. Open focuses on urban and commuter needs, offering mainly quality vintage bicycles and new bicycles made by local frame-builders, including Icarus, Royal H Cycles, and Independent Fabrication. There is a strong fixed gear vibe, but roadbikes and touring bikes are available as well.



If you are looking for a custom project involving building up a vintage frame, or having a unique bicycle made by one of the local frame-builders, Open will guide you through it (pictured above is a prototype frame by Icarus). They also repair bicycles with a good turn-around time and give honest advice. Their product prices and labor fees are very reasonable, and their customer service is top notch. The staff is enthusiastic about bicycles and caring about customers.



As an artist and a velo-lover, I truly appreciate what Open are doing for the local cycling community. If you live in the Boston area, you really must visit this wonderful shop. They are having a gallery opening this Saturday, so that's a great opportunity to stop by!

Exquisite Beauty

Friday, September 24th - - Words cannot describe, nor photographs convey completely, the simplicity and incredible beauty of this place... Crater Lake National Park.

By request: chicken coop

Someone asked about the details of our chicken coop. I'm sure you can probably build one more cheaply than hubby did, but here you go. Click on any of the pictures for a larger version.


Open yard in front, woods in the back. The chickens used to roam picturesquely around the yard, but nowdays they're in the woods most of the time. If we fenced around the coop we'd have fewer predator losses I'm sure.


The ground is rocky and slopes a little here.


One of the Easter Eggers wonders what I'm up to. That cinderblock in front is really for me, but the chickens use it too. Hubby originally designed the back wall to have a door with a ramp for small chicks, but it turns out that they can hop up on the block too, so we never open the other side.


The door is person-sized rather than chicken-sized.


Fancy door lock #1 (closed door position). There's one at the top and another at the bottom.


Fancy door lock #2 (open door position).


Fancy footing. Jasmine crawls under the coop at this end sometimes. Not that a little thunder would frighten her or anything... she just likes it under there.


Hubby poured concrete for the corner footings. He says that he wishes he'd made a row of footings down the middle (underneath) too but it's a little late for that now.


Left (front) side wall. We made two roosts on this side, one low and one high. They only ever use the high one though. Hubby went back and added some of these wall beams later because the side was bowing out a little. Whoever is the top-dog rooster usually roosts directly by the door on this side. No idea why! If you enlarge the picture, you can see that some of the chickens like to roost on that little support piece that's between the roost and the wall.


He's having the same problem with the back wall bowing, and says he needs to add beams here too. The roost is shorter on this side. When we had a lot more chickens, they'd divide up between sides. Nowdays they all roost on the same side, but usually divide up on either end!


The roof slopes and has space for ventilation on both sides. I thought we might have trouble with critters getting in, but we've only had a problem once with a rat snake that ate several eggs and killed a pullet. The ventilation really helps in the summer and doesn't seem to hurt in the winter. (We are in zone 7 so this might not work in colder areas.)


Here is the chickens' favorite nesting box. Yep it's a cat litter box. You can see a little piece of the never-used lower roost. I really need to remove it, since it's only good for banging up my shins.


White leghorn tries to give me the evil eye. She is the oldest chicken we have left now -- in the spring she will be three years old. She still lays very consistently, although her eggs are smaller than they once were.

All the chickens have begun laying again. I wanted to get more chicks in the spring, but hubby is trying to talk me out of it. We have been eating fewer eggs, but I really like having chickens just for pets. And I'm afraid that if we begin the spring with only 6 hens, we'll have none left by fall. There's still time to think about it.

Irchester-Wollaston-Doddington crossing-Irchester

9 miles approx. Barry, Gordon, Maureen. Misty, fine weather.





We started from Irchester (Woodlands Road) and took a footpath between two houses, which led us over fields, across the B569 and to Wollaston. We emerged into Wollaston near the Scott Bader factory, and some houses, including one with several chickens in the garden.





































































We walked through Wollaston, past the church which was slightly to the right of our route, and spotted an attractive walled park, once part of the manor house. The seats were tempting, but it was far too early for a break, so we carried on and crossed the A509. We followed the road towards Great Doddington, turning right after a third of a mile or so. Our path turned slightly to the left (north-west), and we took a path between two lakes, and along a track towards Doddington Crossing and the Mill where several narrowboats were moored.







At this point we joined the Nene Way, and followed it along the river into Wellingborough. This was part of my route on August 5th, on a fine hot day!








Wellingborough Embankment - just right for a stop. Thank you for the scones, Maureen!





After a break we carried on along the riverside.(I did a bit of this accidentally on August 16th) Loads of swans, ducks and gulls hang out there. There were a lot of horses grazing. Most of them had manes and tails covered in burrs, like this poor fellow.



When the mainline viaduct came into view we started to make our way towards Chester house.











At this point we joined the Nene Way again (see my walk on Tuesday 16 August).
We walked around to the right of the house to investigate the site of a walled Roman town. We saw part of it, but there may have been more.

Behind Chester House, which is being restored, repaired or rebuilt, is the remains of a walled kitchen garden with conservatory and fruit trees - just out of our reach!



We had to cross the A45. It has a central reservation and path, so is possible with care. Then we took Chester Road, past Townend Farm into Irchester, passing Lower Farm, and a cottage called Cwmnene. We made a small detour to look at the info board in St Katharine's Walk, and to seek out the (very small) Catherine Wheel which is part of the weathervane. Ha ha - wrong lens again ;-)




I like the banded stone effect. The spire is the tallest in the county.

A short walk took us back to the start of the walk.





I was pleased to have walked along part of the Nene I hadn't covered before.




October : Update about Chester Farm site - they may open a heritage centrefor the Roman site.