A Love Story and a Fair Weekend
I came into work last Wednesday morning to hear the sad news that Lenny had to leave the all-night shift early at around 2:30 in the morning because both of his parents had passed away. A car accident? A fire? No, neither of those.
A real in-life and in-death love story. Edit: The article is no longer there from the paper it had been published in. Lenny's father was taken to the hospital suffering from a heart attack. His mother, distraught over the thought of losing him died less than two minutes before her husband succumbed.
Tammy and I spent much of our weekend (both Friday and Saturday afternoons) at the various art fairs in Minneapolis: Uptown, Powderhorn, and Loring Park. We knew artists displaying their work at each location so it was nice to visit with them but we didn't get to see them all. We arrived at Powderhorn just as it was closing and only had time to chat with Steve. We kept him there beyond the 6:00 closing time but I'm quite sure that was fine with him because he made a couple of sales during that time.
We tried to buy one of Steve's bowls but he wouldn't let us. He said he'd have to discount it too much and offered to work with us instead to make one of our own. What a guy! Steve intimidates us because he makes the art of glassblowing look so much easier than it really is, leaving us to feel that we should be doing better than we are. What I wouldn't give to spend one week with him working intensely on improving my skills. We've been absent from the studio for the past six weeks as other activities keep us from getting there. I'm looking forward to getting back more regularly once again and picking up where we left off.
Photos from the fairs.
I got out for a ride Saturday morning under a mostly sunny sky with a light breeze and cool, dry air. I don't think conditions can be any more ideal than what Saturday offered. I headed northwest intending to do a Lakeville to Rogers loop but some road construction sent me a little further west than I'd planned. I turned near Rockford to put what little wind there was at my back to help push me home.
Riding Highway 55 just east of Rockford I passed another cyclist. Noticing he had his earbuds in I simply gave him a quick nod and unheard "hello" as I passed on his left. He tucked in behind me and sat in my draft. I half expected him to at some point pull through and allow me the advantage of a draft but after a couple miles, I realized he was content to sit in. I didn't really mind but then again I suppose I did. I upped my effort to see if he could still hang with me. He could.
After around 7 miles I slowed for a stoplight and looked over at him. He commented on my jersey from California Bicycles in the San Diego area. He told me that he's a software developer who recently moved here from there and was familiar with the shop. I told him it was my main fix for all things bicycle-related when I was in the Navy stationed out there. We made more small-talk before he smiled and thanked me for the draft while at the same time apologizing for not helping. "I'd have pulled through if I could," he said.
I'll take that as a compliment!
A link to my ride on Strava.
A real in-life and in-death love story. Edit: The article is no longer there from the paper it had been published in. Lenny's father was taken to the hospital suffering from a heart attack. His mother, distraught over the thought of losing him died less than two minutes before her husband succumbed.
Tammy and I spent much of our weekend (both Friday and Saturday afternoons) at the various art fairs in Minneapolis: Uptown, Powderhorn, and Loring Park. We knew artists displaying their work at each location so it was nice to visit with them but we didn't get to see them all. We arrived at Powderhorn just as it was closing and only had time to chat with Steve. We kept him there beyond the 6:00 closing time but I'm quite sure that was fine with him because he made a couple of sales during that time.We tried to buy one of Steve's bowls but he wouldn't let us. He said he'd have to discount it too much and offered to work with us instead to make one of our own. What a guy! Steve intimidates us because he makes the art of glassblowing look so much easier than it really is, leaving us to feel that we should be doing better than we are. What I wouldn't give to spend one week with him working intensely on improving my skills. We've been absent from the studio for the past six weeks as other activities keep us from getting there. I'm looking forward to getting back more regularly once again and picking up where we left off.
Photos from the fairs.
I got out for a ride Saturday morning under a mostly sunny sky with a light breeze and cool, dry air. I don't think conditions can be any more ideal than what Saturday offered. I headed northwest intending to do a Lakeville to Rogers loop but some road construction sent me a little further west than I'd planned. I turned near Rockford to put what little wind there was at my back to help push me home.
Riding Highway 55 just east of Rockford I passed another cyclist. Noticing he had his earbuds in I simply gave him a quick nod and unheard "hello" as I passed on his left. He tucked in behind me and sat in my draft. I half expected him to at some point pull through and allow me the advantage of a draft but after a couple miles, I realized he was content to sit in. I didn't really mind but then again I suppose I did. I upped my effort to see if he could still hang with me. He could.
After around 7 miles I slowed for a stoplight and looked over at him. He commented on my jersey from California Bicycles in the San Diego area. He told me that he's a software developer who recently moved here from there and was familiar with the shop. I told him it was my main fix for all things bicycle-related when I was in the Navy stationed out there. We made more small-talk before he smiled and thanked me for the draft while at the same time apologizing for not helping. "I'd have pulled through if I could," he said.
I'll take that as a compliment!
A link to my ride on Strava.
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