Month: October 2010

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Halloween Decorations at State Street & St. Charles

Some day soon I will not be able to start a post talking about how perfect the weather is, but today? Today, the weather was perfect. I headed out in the morning for an appointment and then rode up to campus for lunch with a student and an afternoon of grading and reading and grading some more. The day ended with wine and cheese and L.’s paper and a good discussion. Such a nice day. I pedaled home in the dark along St. Charles and the wind had an extra chill. I stopped to take a picture of this house at State Street. These people are very, very excited about Halloween. Continue reading →

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Sore Legs Pedaling Down St. Charles

And then sometimes your body is just tired, and your legs feel sore from joint to joint, and you pedal home slowly, looking forward to taking a load off.

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Abandoned Taxi Cabs at Baronne & Terpsichore

Another lovely day in New Orleans, another lovely bicycle ride. After getting some work done at home, I hopped on the Surly and headed down to the Bywater for what I thought would be coffee, but turned into a second lunch (grilled cheese with pears and caramelized onions? you tease!). After a little of this and a little of that, I rode to the gym, and then to S.’s house. She wanted to know if I wanted to take her bicycle shopping this weekend. Continue reading →

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Pink House at Eleanor & St. Charles

I woke up early this morning and got right to work before heading up to campus on my bike. Pedal, pedal, pedal–it was good to get the kinks of yesterday’s long ride out of the legs. I had such a long day, but it was one of those long days that just feels worth it. It had a little bit of everything: challenging classrooms, a hint of completion, genuine intellectual stimulation, and a really good salad. Continue reading →

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Murphy Oil Refinery in Chalmette on E. St. Bernard Hwy

I know I’m a broken record, but I just love riding my bike. I love it. There is nothing like the steady rhythm, rolling along outside, today under this brilliant blue sky, temps in the 70s. I can’t believe how lucky I am to have found the bike. Enough gushing. I didn’t ride anywhere yesterday–I took the day off of everything, went to bed early, and woke up after nine full hours of sleep. I felt like a different person, but the same person insofar as I really felt like taking a bike ride. Continue reading →

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S.W. Green House at 219 South Miro Street

S. has a job again, starting Monday, so when she asked if I might like to ride our bikes around on her last free Friday afternoon, I happily agreed. After getting some work done at the office I hopped on the Surly and headed to Bayou St. John to meet up. S. wanted to ride around the Mid-City Historic District to check out some of the homes that are in the way of the  footprint for the new VA hospital. Some are being moved, but others face demolition. Continue reading →

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Plantation Keys For Sale at James H. Cohen & Sons on Royal Street

I got on my bike after 9:30pm on a school night–whoa–and headed down to the venue to meet S. for a show. It was a little bit cool when I left, but a block and a half on the bike and I was plenty warm as I flew down St. Charles. Turns out when you aren’t packing any gear, the bike feels lighter. It felt so good to be on the bike, and I got where I was going much too quickly. Continue reading →

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Flowering Tree Near Newcomb Hall at Tulane

It was yet another beautiful early fall day in New Orleans. I hopped on the bike to head to school early, and the air was just a teensy bit cool–perfect. I taught and taught and lunched and taught and by the end of the day I had a really impressive headache lodged behind my left eye. Ugh. I did not feel like doing anything but lying around in the dark, but I got on my bike and headed down to the gym. Then I discovered I’d left work I needed at the office. Sigh. Monday on Wednesday. Continue reading →

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Vines on a Blighted House on Delachaise & Danneel

I spent the day working at home until I had to head to campus for what turned out to be a positively delightful reception with colleagues organized by M., the chair of my department. I took the bike, of course, and stopped at the post office to mail a thing or two. It is so much faster to run errands by bike than by car, folks, and in weather like we’re having, so, so much more pleasant. I was less than a block Uptown from the post office when I noticed this house covered in vines. Continue reading →

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Clouds Rolling in Above Magazine & Arabella

We’ve been enjoying an absolutely beautiful fall here in New Orleans, and this past week has been simply off the charts. The sky has been nothing but blue and sun has been doing nothing but shining and it has been like summertime. Today was no different, as least as far as I could tell from inside classrooms and offices and cafeterias. At the end of the day I headed to the grocery to meet S. for some co-shopping. We were sitting outside, S. scarfing down a snack, me ranting about this and that, when I glanced up and needed to take a picture of the sky. Yep, clouds are rolling in, and the sky looked just beautiful, all pink around the edges. We finished up our snacks and rants and I pedaled home. The air had that chill of a new season–it felt good, but I hope it’s teasing. I like that sweaty stuff too much.