Been having too much fun to blog much.

We had a fantastic end of summer weekend, with swimming (even though the weather was cool), grilling, beer, coffee, movies and fun times with Charlotte.

Also, and this is no insignificant thing, I received a food dehydrator as a birthday gift from my parents. “What the hell would a 31-year-old want with one of those?” you ask?

Well, immediately, I can dry a lot of the chilis and basil I grew/am growing this year. Also, well, holy shit, those babies are awesome! No more trail mix full of crap I hate and also without fruit because the stuff at the market is not great (not enough to spend the cash on anyway). Meals ready to eat? Yes. When we go camping, I take my own food so as not to be a pain the ass, since I’m the only vegetarian. This means that I have to lug it all myself, with a cooler to boot. Not if I learn to make my own dehydrated vegetarian cuisine!

This is not to mention that Charlotte and I can make all sorts of delicious things.  I’m picturing her taking bags of dried fruit all over Baltimore during  the winter, from delicious things I got at the farmers market in the summer.

I was raving to my mother a few weeks ago that I grew too much basil this year and had to freeze a lot of it and even murder a plant.  I said I wanted to diversify next year and get a food dehydrator to keep myself (and family) stocked with home-grown herbs all year.  What I didn’t think of until last night is that the chilis that don’t normally dry well and get frozen instead can be dried this way and used for all kinds of excellent goodness!

My mom listened.  My mom rocks.

Been walking so much the bus looks fast to me.

I’ve blogged a lot about walking.  I know.  It’s something that I don’t do enough (because I am lazy and impatient) but something I enjoy endlessly.

Wednesday, I was at a community meeting at St. Paul Street and North Avenue in Central Baltimore.  It was supposed to last until 7:30 or 8:00, but it was over at 7:04 for pizza and chatting.  I’d already done my “networking” before the meeting started, so I bolted to catch my 7:53 bus at the train station.  On my way from my chair to the door, I thought, “Why should I bullshit in my office until my bus?  I can just walk!”  So when I left the building, I made a left and headed for home.

Sure, folks will chide you for walking through “that area” at “that time of night.”  Dude, 7:00pm dark is not the same as 2:00am dark — and I don’t walk around anywhere at that time (except once in Carbondale when we walked from the train station to home in the dead middle of the night after a trip to Memphis, with a tiny flashlight –  but that’s another story).  I didn’t see anyone sketchy and in fact was the sketchy person to lady who halted her exit from her car until after I passed her around 24th Street.  And for two young ladies carrying their groceries home above 25th Street.

Instead of driving or sitting on an empty bus or pedaling uphill, I got to peak into the big, old, stately houses on St. Paul Street (think 3-story rowhomes with big basements), at folks’ bookshelves and holiday decorations.  I greeted a dozen dog-walkers.  I caught the exam-time buzz as I cut through JHU to University Parkway.  I scared a guy on the section of University Parkway there the streetlights are out and where it is completely pitch black.  And, at the top of the hill, I saw the warm glow of the LED star lights in our windows, on the corner of the building, where warmth, my wife and a pasta dinner awaited.  In all, I walked 3 miles in 45 minutes.  Not that far, but fast, and I was tired.  That distance is small for a hike, but pretty long in a smallish city like Baltimore.

It was an exceptional night.  I read before bed and slept like a baby.

We planned some similar fun walking for Saturday, which is itself worthy of a post.

Bike intro for the little dudes.

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[My wife's Blinktastic bike, which she commutes on. It, sorry, she has a cool name, too.]

I am teaching a group of little dudes about cycling, a sort of course/class. Safety, maintenance, the difference between all them there tubes rolling around on a bike, etc. The kids are between the ages of 11 and 16 and are definitely into video games and the like. Two of them have ridden a bike like twice. And, frankly, they don’t go outside to play like I did when I was their age. I was afraid that they might not be all that interested when my surrogate uncle suggested the endeavor.

Last night, I explained in general, how a bike works, where there are bearings, how everything on a bike has a purpose, how they can learn to ride around sans car and driver’s license, how they can be self-sufficient and free on a bike. Most of all, that riding a bike is fun, not just something for hippies, raceheads, the Dutch and people who don’t want cars.

I think they dug the idea.

They actually asked questions, thought using a chain tool/breaker (which we did because a chain needed to be replaced on someone’s bike) was cool, wanted to know more about things like fenders. Of course, I haven’t showed them how to grease wheel hubs yet, what tire Slime smells like (ick!) or taken them into traffic where they have never ever been in the position of driver. That can be scary for anyone. But I think they have it in them. If the project continues, I think the cycling community might gain a few young members. Enthusiastic ones! If you see ten people with blinking red lights (my rule) riding around North Baltimore city this spring, that’s us.