I left this morning at 6:49 and had a seamless ride into downtown. The air was calm, temps were in the 70s, skies were cloudy.
About a mile from my office, as I rode down a quiet street in a quiet neighborhood next to a park, I saw a young woman walking what appeared to be a white goat. I thought, “A goat, well, yes, why wouldn’t someone in Austin be walking a goat?”. As I rode closer I saw that it was a white German Shepherd, but thought a goat was good, and decided to draw what I thought I saw, for one of my BrewTime© Post-It notes. 🐐
My ride home was pretty good, too, even though I hit traffic in such a way that I had to stop at busy street crossings more than usual. The sky was a mix of clouds and sun and I was thankful for the breezes as they cooled me down in the hot spots.
Jim planned on riding just to 1 retailer, O’Reilly’s, early this afternoon, to buy a little bulb for his truck’s turn signal. He’s been to this particular place before, but today was his last: he wheeled his bike inside as there are no bike racks or anything reasonable to lock one’s bike to, and the manager said to him gruffly, “Leave it outside”. Jim asked, “What?” They exchanged words, as Jim (and I) have wheeled our bikes in with us in that particular store before. The Cliff Notes version of this story is that the manager was rude, Jim called O’Reilly’s headquarters, and the district manager in our area is going to talk with that manager. Austin cyclists’ alert: this particular O’Reilly’s is not bike friendly.
Jim then rode almost all the way back home and beyond to get to retailer B, back toward home again to retailer C, and then to retailer D , but none of them had what he was looking for. Booph.
P.S. Dye bath update: I soaked my in-progress dress in rust water, or ferrous sulfate, as a mordant over the weekend. I hope to create the red onion-skin dye for the dress in the next few days. My primer is Botanical Inks by Babs Behan.
Oh no, what a horrid experience at the store!
I love that you saw a goat when it was in fact a German Shepherd! I was surprised at a campsite the other week when I spotted a couple walking their cats on leads - it makes sense, I guess - they wouldn't want to let them loose when they're away from home. It's something I'd never seen before, though!