before/after : space chair

yee old dumpster chair

layer o' black 

getting there..

get glitter on the seat of your pants for free!

all done, for now

morning mess leftover

the newest addition to my bike

courtesy of the Magic Smelt Puppet Troupe

empty bowl this morning

Kirsten and I ventured downtown to the Depot to see all the bowls made for the Empty Bowl event today- each bowl costs $20- made by a local mystery artist of your choice and the proceeds go to feedin' the hungry... not bad huh?

all shapes, sizes, colors, glazes, textures you could imagine!

The bowl I got below: at first looks like a beautifully glazed bowl, right? BUT WAIT!

 Did that stump anyone else? I didn't see the wolves/dogs/creatures until Kirsten pointed them out. Neaaat-o.

Signed by the mysterious GR. Thanks GR.

today

I woke up. Had some breakfast, eventually made lunch (note my SUPERB food photography skillz) then picked up the last film of my euro travels and looked at pictures while I sat by the lake. After storms, there are always odd things on the beach the next day... I even found a shopping cart from the Titanic. The lake looks lunar. Happy spring.

love letter to a dutch bike

photo of me and Black Bike by my friend Per

dear Black Bike,

I've missed you since that January day

such a brief encounter we had, 

still I'll be missing you through May. 

such a proud bike 

just standing there.

chain guard, little seat, 

and a bell, you did wear. 

up and down the sidewalk twice, 

was all the time we got. 

we should've ran away together, 

perhaps wed've  gone somewhere hot. 

my other bikes are jealous, 

I talk about you all the time. 

I fear one morning they'll both be gone, 

and the fault will be all mine.

so Black Bike 

I keep my words true.

I hope someday we'll meet again, 

and I promise to never dump you.  

Amsterdam at night taken by Per

your program is not loading properly

but looks cool as hell.

sometimes when you live in an apartment building with people you think you know and something like this appears at your door you realize you really don't know what they know

words walking home

a few premature thoughts about springtime.

the opportunity to 'burn daylight' is once again relevant, because now, there is daylight to speak of. creatures come out of hibernation, as does the poop your neighbor's dog left behind last autumn. side street puddles become tide pools teeming with pitched candy wrappers and hopeless lost (soggy) mittens. icicles once harmless become delicate dangling daggers. the ground once again is steady beneath your feet, the days of sidewalk sheet ice are almost over. you may finally feel like interacting with other human beings again outside of your workplace. the greater Duluth population finally decides to buy the clearance shovels at Menard's, while thinking, "maybe I'll shovel tomorrow"

but then you remember,
it's only March 3rd!

papabubble

Well, don't ask me HOW I found this candy shop whilst wandering around Amsterdam, but I am glad I did, and happy I was able to refrain from actually enjoying these candies SEVERAL WEEKS after I bought them, which is a lifetime in candy years... 

I was quite impressed that each piece has its own flavor as well, none of that different-colored-candy-yet-same-taste business. 

dreams do come true in candyland! 

darn

it appears in my 3+ years usage of this free blog, I have run out of space to post more photos. you may look for updates soon after I figure out whether or not I must spend money on this matter!

11 days  !

the days left in class in OH NO GETTING LESS CREATIVE

13

because I have to post about Sybille Baier ...

and so here is a beautiful song

duluth's own pepperkakebyen ... gingerbread city!

the lift bridge with the St.Clair passing underneath, note the gumdrop penguins 

fresh frosted homes with complementary peppermint punctuated pathways 

we all wish enger tower was this delicious looking in real life

some people got REALLY into it