It’s been sunny this week in Seattle, and I’ve been taking advantage by hopping on the new bike and going for a spin after work. Even just a little breeze around the neighborhood fills me with delight – I’ve missed riding, the way I feel when I’m on a bike, the mix of peace and excitement, the combination of in-the-moment focus and mind-wide-open rumination. I’m planning to take the bike down the Oregon coast when I go to Mike and Alissa’s wedding – it’s a twelve-hour ride but I can’t wait to

I spent a couple hours working in the shop last night. The new apartment’s kitchen lacks for counter space, so I bought a little wooden cutting board at Ikea and cut it down to fit in a gap between the edge of the counter and the refrigerator. The gap is only about sixteen inches wide, but we only have about three linear feet of counter space to begin with, so that’s a significant improvement. I glued on some wooden mounting rails; Ava is going to oil the wood tonight, and we’ll install it this weekend some time.

I also worked on the couch project some more. After sitting on the not-yet-upholstered platform a while and observing the way it flexes, I decided to add some more support underneath, and to build up more substantial sockets for the four thinner legs. It’s going to be a fair bit heavier this way but I think it’s worth the effort.