I Have No Idea What I am Doing

My friend Greg has been biking through Mexico since December, and blogging about it the whole way over at Home Is Where You Hang Your Helmet. This photo, which I yanked from his recent post on baja, is overlooking the ocean. In the desert. All. By. Himself.

His most romantic adventure yet happened in his last post, The “Road” to Mazatlan. Here’s an excerpt, and I highly recommend you keep reading on his blog. (I should note here that Greg is quite literate, but typing on foreign keyboards, being very hard of seeing, and casting off the world has made his grammar and spelling…slip. It’s forgivable.) Take it away, Greg: (more…)

No Kissing Zones have been set up in several railway stations in England as a tongue in cheek (forgive me, I had to) reminder to keep moving in drop off areas. A counter Kissing Zone has been set aside in a less trafficked area for smooching, and presumably for asking what the dinner plans are and if you want to go to brunch on Sunday.

This makes my weekend–if commuters need to be reminded to stop with the affection and move along, then the world is a happier place than I thought. And props to the British officials who thought this was a better option than the Unloading Zone sign. Watch the video explanation at the UK Telegraph.

I get my news from comics like Toothpaste for Dinner, so I’m a little behind the times, but it seems that the President is still doing adorable things. Good to know. People are making comics, and variations of comics, of his latest snowball fight. This one looks a lot like Ole.

Whatever, groundhog.  A Cup of Jo wrote about having winter blues today. I’m feeling off, too, but it’s more a feeling of transformation, a doggedness and many obstacles still to come, but with something exciting in the air. High though, like in the stratosphere. And I remain silly, steadfastly silly. And here’s the perfect picture. Thanks, The Big Picture. Their description of the Tough Guy Challenge:

“Billed as “the safest most dangerous taste of physical and mental endurance pain in the world”, the Tough Guy Challenge took place yesterday, February 1st, on South Perton Farm, near Wolverhampton, England. Thousands of challengers (men and women) started the endurance race, with hundreds dropping out along the way due to exhaustion or injury – broken bones, dislocations, and over 600 cases of hypothermia. Even the overall winner, James Appleton, was treated briefly for hypothermia. The course takes racers through 21 obstacles – through mud, freezing water, across ropes and burning terrain.”

Well, at least the weather is on my side today.

Portland is never ready for the big storms, and this year we got nailed. It was one of the largest storms of the century, but also just 13 inches. In Colorado, where I grew up, that’s not going to raise any eyebrows. But here in the Pacific NW, it’s a doozie.

Mayhem and lots of hot alcoholic drinks ensued. Schools were canceled for over a week. Most of my friends didn’t have to work. Buses were stuck (200 buses in one day). All in all, it was awesome. We took advantage by sledding on cookie pans and an old snowboard, and then breaking into a snow filled swimming pool. Above are branches covered in a quarter inch of pure ice, which coated houses, cars, and roads.

One of the cutest moments of Portlandness was when we took Bella, Matthew’s dog, on an epic snow walk through SE. We stopped for lunch at Bread and Ink Cafe and tied her up. An hour later when we emerged she was wearing a dashing brown and black angora scarf, looking happy. I suspect someone working at Red Light across the street saw her being cute and thought, “Now that dog needs a scarf!”

She’s been wearing it on all walks since. I plan to pass the cuteness on to the next dog who looks a little chilly. Every dog needs a scarf!

Superstitions are kind of creepy, and I’m wary of people who stick to them. But then, I still do the the little kiss-the-ceiling move when I go through a yellow light (illegal in Oregon, btw), and I even do it on my bike (kiss-the-sky?). Not out of belief that it will ward off accidents, but because it’s cute, gives me something to do other than plod ahead, and is a fun way to interact with the world.

Really, why not attribute personal meaning to otherwise mundane things? Kids give the world so much wonder–fairies in the backyard and monsters in the closet. Such easy little pleasures. While I won’t go around with a lucky blue rabbit foot on my ear, I do like the concept of actively seeking good fortune through items or habits.

So far all I can identify is my yellow light habit and my favorite ring from Small Things Designs. This ring (the blue swallow image) just keeps coming back to me. I’ve dropped it all over the US– in movie theaters, in streets, in cars, and it makes its way back to me.

P.S. How cute is that pink and brown asymmetrical vintage mini dress?

Since he’s hosting my blog, Plumpy gets a guest blog.

After disappearing from gChat at 3:24, he returns at 5:47 with this:

“ideas about naps”