Proposals and Pork

I was at a site visit yesterday for a potential job and it went pretty well. I came home totally excited and typed out a scope of work to send off to the architecture firm right away. We discussed the plan over the phone, agreed on a rate, and I think things should be in motion by Friday. Of course there are tons of approvals, so the work might not begin for a couple of weeks.

By the time I finished with the proposal it was 4pm and the hour when we start to think about dinner. Working from home, or as I call it, our "alternative work schedule," has turned us into old people. Dinner is usually on the table no later than 5pm. Yesterday was no exception, but we needed a few things at the grocery store. So, we hopped on our bikes and rode out to Safeway downtown. Of course, large trips in the future will be reserved for the car, but we were able to get everything we needed for dinner last night as well as fresh veggies for the rest of the week.

The veggies fit perfectly in the front basket of my bike. However, I found out that the basket not only looks clunky (with that giant mount on the front) it is also not really useful for anything except lettuce (or maybe flowers). We stored our bike locks in the bottom for the ride home and the weight made the handlebars really hard to control. I think this weekend I'm going to remove the whole thing and search for a basket or bags that will fit on the back rack so I can transport more practical things -- like a full load of groceries.

I have to say that I am pleased that we have taken advantage of the really nice weather over the past couple of weeks and ridden our bikes to a lot of places where we would have normally driven. This weekend we rode out to SE Hawthorne Blvd. to Pastaworks for pancetta and fresh pasta. They seriously have some of the nicest-looking meats I have seen in a while. The pancetta is far superior to any I have ever tasted (it contributed to a kick-ass pasta carbonara).