Saturday marked the start of the annual seven-week-long Coffeeneuring Challenge, which pairs riding bikes and drinking hot beverages (not at the same time). It is an enjoyable rite of fall, and you can even take your hot beverages with you, as long as you stop in different spots to drink them each time. Find the rules here if you’re interested in riding along.

For Five Coffee Roasters
2000 L St., N.W.
Saturday, Oct. 10, late afternoon
Conditions: Overcast, but dry

An afternoon nap and COVID hours on Saturday meant my options were limited as I headed out after four. For Five Coffee Roasters had opened in the West End earlier this year and it seemed reasonable to stop in before they closed at 5.

There are several rectangular bike racks on that block, so I had no problem locking up right outside. Their patio was full, but I haven’t gotten brave enough to eat outside yet anyway, so I wasn’t worried.

Even if you didn’t know this was a transplant from NYC before you arrived, you could figure it out when you arrived. It’s all black and silver and sharp lines and hip pre-corporate vibes.

They had somewhere in the range of 10 loose leaf teas, including a Nepalese option, which is what I chose. The tea was hot and strong, and I don’t know what else you could look for in a cuppa. I give them kudos to having black tea options other than English breakfast and Earl Grey.

When asked about contents of the bakery case, the barista confided he really liked the cinnamon buns. Probably earlier in the day they were delicious. However, after sitting out under a heat lamp all day, mine turned out to be dry and uninspiring. I’d definitely keep time of day in mind in the future if considering dessert, since nothing is covered.

However, I did ask the barista about their hot chocolate and he informed me they make it with chocolate ganache. So I’ll definitely be back to try that option.

I walked the bike over to seating area outside the nearby elementary school, where I could read eat and drink sans mask without worrying about being in others’ vicinity for a while. I then biked over to Trader Joe’s and stopped at the garden, as well, to pick tomatoes in the fading light.

Mileage: 2.15 miles

Treat Yo’ Self Day is later this week. I’m celebrating early.

Rudi headed out west early this morning, so after returning from the airport, I took myself back to bed. Corey kindly did not argue with my sleeping in.

I got up, had some breakfast, and then took a nap on the sofa. Apparently I was tired.

I did eventually rouse myself to head outdoors. I hopped on the bike, did a little reading outside, and then stopped by Trader Joe’s and the garden. In the book I’d been reading, The Trouble with Hating You, I’d just finished an Indian baby shower scene with detailed descriptions of the buffet. You can guess where this led…

I came home with their pumpkin samosas (among other things). I combined amba sauce with yogurt for some dipping sauce. It was a fantastic combination. Who said cooking had to be hard!

I also heated up hot fudge sauce for dessert, which I had after a scene where the main characters went out for gelato!

And then, because I still wasn’t done with the book, I paired half a bag of snack mix (think Chex mix, but made with Indian ingredients, like chickpeas and curry leaves and puffed rice) with a mug of chai.

Overall, it wasn’t a bad Saturday. Here’s hoping my next book is equally inspiring!

Category: life -- uncategorized. There is/are Comments Off on home alone, day 1.

Rudi is off to see his mom tomorrow, braving two flights to Salt Lake City. He’s going to stay for a while, which will be great for his mom and will let him breathe in some mountain air for a while.

Corey and I will be holding down the fort here in D.C. and will spend our time trying to clean the apartment a bit, knitting, and working through the large pile of library books I have checked out. I do not have any boxes of cereal in the house, so I guess I’ll also have to do the cooking; you’d think Corey could at least take care of the dusting, wouldn’t you?

Next week I have 25 Zoom/Teams meetings (many of them virtual conference workshops/lectures) over the first four days of the week, so this weekend I will try to spend time outside, off screens, particularly tomorrow, when the weather looks to be drier. Rainy weather will mean phone calls, laundry, and baking.

What are you planning to do this weekend?

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Soybeans at the midweek farmers market.

2. Neighbors and family friends out in Utah who can stand in as caregivers for us.

3. The Seattle Storm won the WNBA championship this week over the Las Vegas Aces. Since the Storm had three UConn women’s basketball alumnae and the Aces had none, I didn’t have to feel mixed feelings about who won. Plus, the Storm is helmed by Sue Bird, who at 39, is the second-oldest player in either the men’s or women’s NBA.

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world lately?

Behold! A sock that is nearly complete! I’ve started the toe decreases and anticipate wrapping this one up tomorrow evening, perhaps while up at the park.

Or, I’ll be reading. Both of these books are overdue with holds on them. I’d like to get The Trouble with Hating You by Sajni Patel back to the Arlington library this weekend. I have another book overdue there, as well, but my hold on its D.C. equivalent is waiting for me at the MLK library downtown, which I hope to be able to collect tomorrow or Friday. It took me a little while to get into this alternating-POV romance about a woman who runs out on a dinner where her traditional parents have ambushed her with a potential marriage match — who turns out to be the new lawyer she’s going to have to work with on a regular basis. But now that I’m past the set-up, I’m enjoying it.

Sarah has promised me that We Ride Upon Sticks does not contain Horrible Events (outside of the normal day-to-day horrible things that happen to real-life teenage girls), so I have picked that back up again. Its foreshadowing and style of narration had stressed me out and I’d put it down for a while.

Head over to As Kat Knits for her weekly Unraveled wrap-up.

We are now months and months into pandemic shutdowns, travel restrictions, and general malaise. In an effort to keep these last months of the year from spiraling into a hot mess, I thought I’d come up with a list, similar to the ones I often make for weekends, of things I’d like to accomplish each month. I will not get mad at myself if I don’t cross items off, but if I get stuck this gives me a physical place to turn to to see what I could work on.

I’m surprised to report that I actually did a pretty good job with my September list. I think I may have missed a week of bike riding and the MLK Library opening wasn’t actually open to the public (although I have since stopped by the outside of the building, at least). But otherwise, they all have firm checkmarks next to them.

Now, on to October’s list. This month, I’d like to:

• Finish another knitting project. It would be awesome if it were the Halloween socks, but I’d also be happy if it were the pair of socks I was trying to finish before the Tour de France.
• Start coming up with a game plan for Christmas gifts. I don’t have to decide about everyone, but with only one income, mail slowdowns, and the possibility of spending the entire month of November mourning a terrible election outcome, it would be smart to get on this now.
• Speaking of that horrific potential outcome, spend time each weekend in October doing some sort of election activity. Right now, writing postcards still make sense, but I’m sure as it gets closer to the end of the month, I’ll need to switch to texting/making phone calls. (It’s that important.)
• Send out at least three packages. I have the pieces spread across my living room, but haven’t gotten them in boxes and out the door.
• Bike to coffee shops in the area as part of the annual Coffeeneuring bike challenge. It’s good to have traditions, and I’d like to support some of the shops that have opened in the last year, particularly the mom & pops and the Black-owned businesses.
• Send another load of donations to Goodwill.
• Take a day off and see some fall foliage. I’d love for it to be on Skyline Drive in Virginia’s Shenandoahs, which I’ve never visited. But it’s possible that their autumnal adornment will conflict with a work conference, so I might have to compromise with some local fall color.
• Close my work laptop by 5:30 4 days a week. I might need to compromise and open it back up again after sundown, but I definitely need to work on getting outside during the daylight now that the sun sets before seven.
• Write at least two Into the Stacks book review roundups. I’d love to actually get an entire year’s worth of reviews written and it would help if I spent some time this month getting caught up. I hate writing book reviews, but love having them written. I just need to learn to pen posts in my sleep.
• Organize a Zoom call with my college friends. We had one in the spring and it feels like now would be a good time to check in again.

How about you? What’s on your October bucket list?