Paths Almost Crossed

Ruffed Grouse and hiker on a backwoods road in Northeast Minnesota.

Happy Mother's Day!

Mom and Me - Summer of '49
If you'd like, please revisit my post from last year on Mothers and Grandmothers.

Nespresso mania, just a fading trend?

The Netherlands is without a doubt a coffee country. Tea as well. Fact is, the Netherlands was the first country to trade coffee beans (and tea leaves). The amount of coffee drank in this country is just incredible, unimaginable even. In the recent years though, gourmet coffee has managed to sneak in slowly but surely into the kitchens of the average Dutch. This started with the outdated Philips Senseo and now, the most sought-after, Nespresso.

At my workplace here in the Netherlands we have a big Nespresso machine. At our EMEA headquarters in Geneve we have a much bigger Nespresso machine that fits to a wall. Because I am in field sales I am not always in the office, but when I am, I make sure to take a cup or two or three a day—usually espresso. At my customers and business partners they normally serve me Douwe Egberts which I do not mind at all.

When travelling, I have my guaranteed daily dose of espresso fix at lovely cafes matched with some people watching.

At home though, I rarely drink coffee. I have my special tea for breakfast and for after dinner. However lately, I have been thinking of buying a Nespresso machine to address those rare days that I am craving for a shot of black goodness espresso at home.

The Dutchman on the other hand is the only Dutch man in the Netherlands that drinks instant coffee—Nescafe. Most Dutch would not even touch this, lol.

So I went to Bijenkorf Utrecht last weekend to have a look and feel of these coffee machines and this is what I found:

Ah, there seems to be no recession here at Bijenkorf. Business is doing very well. There is always an unbelievably long line here every weekend at the Nespresso corner. People are ready to put out extra money for gourmet coffee.


Nevertheless, I am still not sure if I should buy a Nespresso machine. Well, don’t get me wrong. I am a coffee lover but its seems that my love for coffee is inevitably only at work and when I am travelling. So we shall see... in the meantime, I will check out the china department for ideas of my next set.

Here is a TRIVIA:
‘Did you know that the most expensive coffee in the world is found only in the Philippines (Kape Alamid) and Indonesia (Kopi Luwak)? Its called CIVET coffee in English.’

I'm going to grab one when I am back in Asia towards the end of the year.

Summerfest and The British Invasion

Since the extent of our fun this past few weeks has been along the lines of Trivial Pursuit and the library, we were very excited to visit St. Mary's Summerfest today. Not only did it get us out of the RV, but we also got to see a Beatles band, The British Invasion. The Beatles pro of the family said they were "ok". The rest of us thought they were great.

Speaking of libraries and the Beatles fan in our family, this week when we went to check out our goodies the librarian complimented our choices in movies. "Thinking movies" is what she called them. I giggled because they were mostly Beatles movies and due to the Beatles love that Austin has. When we got home and watched them, I saw she was absolutely right-they were thinking movies. Once again my kid taught me something about life that I might not have ever known otherwise.



Back to our fun at the Summerfest, it was very crowded there but we still found a table to sit and eat our corndogs and elephant ears at. I wish I'd have thought to take pictures of the festival, because it was a really nice one. I love small town fairs and festivals and how the locals all show up to attend them. It's nice to see that things like this are still loved in our country. And we always get a great feel for the area while we are sitting there and soaking it all up. It's one of the reasons we wanted to travel, so it's great when we do get to experience it.



Living the life in Ohio!

Mount Vernon Place Once Upon A Time

My father, George Cokinos and Billie Stathes became friends when she was five, and he was six years old. She remembers the day they met at St. Sophia's Greek Orthodox Church- then the hub of the Greek community. (George didn't learn to speak English until he went to kindergarten.) His uncle, Adam Cokinos opened a candy shop at 9th and K some time around the turn of the century and then sent for his brother, Peter, George's father, to come join him in 1905. Another brother, Alec came sometime later and ended up living next to the church and being the caretaker.

Billie recently attended my father's funeral in Washington- flying in from her home in Florida where she is a retired teacher, a writer and a translator of Greek. She sent me this amazing map which was made by her cousin, Nick Chacos.




Between the two of them, they have set the gold standard for memory. Billie also included this narrative:
From 1922 until 1933 I called the two blocks of Eighth Street near Mt. Vernon Square where I lived-"the village". Mount Vernon Square with a beautiful park and a library was our landmark for an every day visit after school.

On the corner of 8th and L was the Greek Orthodox Church. There was a social hall in the basement where dances for teenagers were held every Friday night. You had to be fourteen to attend. Next to the church was a small two story house where the caretaker, Alec and his wife, Koula Cokinos lived. Their home was always open for cookies and a visit.


All of the houses on the right were brownstones, three or four stories high. On the left was a row of small homes where the colored folk lived. We all played together.
Dr. Fred Repetti, the village doctor lived on 8th and L. Every family went to him for advice and medicine. During prohibition, he would give prescriptions for bourbon, Four Roses and rum. The drugstore at the other corner gladly filled them in medicine bottles. We made wine in our basement every year, and even the policemen would be waiting for it. Around the corner on M street was the grocery store and the Chinese laundry. We were very nasty to the Chinese boy.
Our pride and joy was the corner of 8th and M where there were four gas stations. We were very very proud of them. No one on our blocks owned an automobile. We would go to the corner every day to look at the marvelous cars which stopped for gas. Two blocks were torn down in the late 1930s taking our village with them.
(9th and L today)
I walked the neighborhood last month and found the library remains intact-although now it houses The Historical Society of Washington. The library was built with funds from Andrew Carnegie in 1905. The new convention center has obliterated blocks of history- only a few signs remain with pictures and anecdotes of the way things were.
(There's a heritage trail sign just to the left of this building on the corner of 9th and M.)

St. Sophia's moved uptown- just off Massachusetts's Avenue where it stands today. The current building was designed by Billie's cousin, Socrates Stathes.

Click on the maps above to see details of the little neighborhood that was.

Springtime in Park City

Photos taken June 1, .. in Park City, Utah

Minnehaha Saddlebag: a Splendid Bargain

Riled up by the discussion in the comments section of this post, we caved in and bought a Minnehaha medium saddlebag from that place where it is on clearance [link removed since the item is no longer sold there].



The Co-Habitant attached it to his Raleigh DL-1 Roadster and it is a perfect match. Black canvas with tan leather straps - a simple, classic design. Those light strips are our own CatEye lights; they do not come with the bag.



We do not have pictures of the bag before the lights were attached, but above you can see it on our friend somervillain's beautiful Shogun (which I will be writing about soon). The Minnehaha looks as good on a stately 3-speed as it does on a regal randonneur.



The bag originally came with two reflective strips of fabric, attached to the leather straps via cords that resemble hair elastics (these are pictured above). The Co-Habitant removed these when he attached the lights, and now I will use them as actual reflective hair elastics when I cycle at night.



Side view of the Minnehaha on the Roadster. As you can see, the leather straps attach to the two saddle loops and to the seat post. If you prefer, the strap around the seat post could instead be secured to a rear rack, placing the bag at an upright angle.



The bag is voluminous. Dimensions are 11"W x 9"D x 9"H and it has a 10L capacity. A wooden support (visible inside, along the top) ensures that it will keep its shape. There is only one large compartment, which can be loosened or tightened via the cord shown in the picture.



The design is not complicated. It is basically a large, versatile bag that can be stuffed to the brim and will still look good. We have filled it with clothing, food, purchases, bottles of water, etc., and it has behaved very well. Attached in the manner shown, the bag is extremely stable and does not dangle. It also keeps its form even when empty.



One aspect of this bag worth noting, is that both the canvas and the leather come "unfinished", which some who purchase it may not realise. When treated with a water-repellent conditioner, the leather will turn a dark chestnut brown. So if you prefer that look over the black and tan, keep in mind that the bag will look that way once you treat it. We will probably do this eventually, but haven't had time yet.



As others have noted, the main drawback of the Minnehaha medium saddlebag is the location of its closure - which is so low that it's almost underneath the bag. One must either lean over or kneel in order to access it, and it's hard to see the buckles from either of those positions. The Co-Habitant also reports that he found it difficult to fasten the buckles at first, as the fit wasn't perfect - but over time everything stretched out and softened up and this difficulty subsided.



The final verdict on the Minnehaha medium saddlebag: We are very glad that we got it at the bargain price, and I highly doubt that anybody would regret that purchase. As for the retail price? Well, I still think it is a good value - simply because all bicycle bags are expensive nowadays, regardless of looks or quality, and even at full retail it is still less expensive than most. The Minnehaha bag is large, classic, and matches practically any bike. You can learn more about their full line-up here.