Life, Love & Letterpress at LunaLux.

Jenni Undis of LunaLux on Harmon Place in Minneapolis, operates this old Letterpress equipment, wooden type and all.  And she lets her customers try their hand!

While visiting the shop during their 20th birthday party last weekend, Jenni and her pressmen interns, Forrest and Andrea, gave me free rein of the typebox, and ink sump, but just enough close supervision to keep me out of trouble.

I had a blast printing a broadside that read: Life & Love is What We Do Together.

You'll have to pay a visit of your own to the store, roll up your sleeves, learn to think dyslexic, and crank out some prints that are guaranteed to bring great joy of accomplishment.

Jimmy Choo - Eat Your Heart Out!

C'mon. WTF. Have you EVER seen a boot like this?  Fashionista Footwear in the extreme. Whoa.

My friend Dan is on holiday in Spain with his wife.  They've e-mailed me a few pictures of their adventures and discoveries:  in Toledo, Sevilla and Barcelona. Dan's got a good eye for a foto, and some of his memories match the ones Nancy and I have from our trips to Iberia.

But THIS. Unidentified and unexplained.  We've never seen anything like it.  As Nancy says:  how does the wearer balance herself in these heels?

And I say: I'll bet these damn things cost more than a pair of Chanels.

See Mike Hoyt's Mobile Drawing Table at MCAD.

Minneapolis artist, social chronicler, and Jerome Fellowship recipient, Michael Hoyt, pulls this mobile drawing studio behind his bike all over the Twin Cities. He invites local residents -- of some of the area's least reported-on communities -- to sit for a portrait, and tell Mike their stories.

The resulting art, scanned on the spot, and copies shared with subjects, bears the names of the citizens interviewed and sketched.

As the Jerome Fellowship show book at the current exhibit at Minneapolis College of Art and Design explains, "The premise of Mike's project is simple: seen together his portraits suggest a host of questions about place and identity,  pride and community, and the role of an artist when he 'pedals' beyond gallery walls."

Check out this exhibit for yourself.  It's at the College of Art and Design now through the 10th of November.

Bring the Troops Home.

I was standing next to a fellow vet at a Don't Bomb Syria protest in Minneapolis earlier this summer. When I noticed his tatts and wristbands took this foto -- as much out of curiosity as in contrast to my barren arms. One of the organizers asked for "a show of hands" from first-time protest attendees.  Mine shot up; this other guy stayed rock solid.  He'd been here before it seems.

Minnesota's Hautman Brothers, Primo Wildlife Artists.

Our local Twin Cities media is a buzz with news of the Hautman Brothers, Minnesota Wildlife Artists and Conservation Stamp contributors.  

Poppina and I took in the Hautman exhibit at Minnetonka Center for the Arts -- impressive, humbling, prolific.  Birds, deer, bear, dogs, fish, and landscape abound.

You'd be making a big mistake if you didn't see this show.  And, read all about it in the StarTribune, too.

This Guy Jeff Can Paint Like No Other.

We've written here about the flood in our basement as a result of a huge storm back in June.  Little by little the pieces have been picked up, the destruction repaired, the house put back together.

One of the final steps on the road to sanity is a fresh coat of paint (primer first, of course) over new sheetrock.  There is also new trim work and baseboards; fresh paint covers that real estate as well.

Jeff was the craftsman/maestro/artiste.  Wonderful job he did. Thank you. As for you readers and viewers, we're only sorry we can't show you all Jeff's handiwork here on the Poppy Blog.

This Guy Hillegass Paints a Different Way.

Minneapolis entrepreneur Jim Hillegass took up painting (self-taught) barely a year ago.  He paints, paints, paints like a man possessed, and is very good at it. He loves nothing more than finishing a canvas a day.  Not those big babies you see him working on in this photo.  But art like the one I commissioned from Jim -- took him no time and the result -- c'est magnifique!

Brother Joe Saddles up the New Brooks Cambium C17.

C'mon. You just KNOW you want one of these new Brooks "Cambium" C 17 Ltd.  saddles on YOUR road bike. Just check it out.

My brother Joe ordered one direct from England, installed it on his Le Mond as soon as the seat arrived stateside. Fifty miles into Joe's ride around Dade County, his home, and his rear tire blew.

My bro gets a new tube while I get a photo of the new saddle to share with readers of Poppy's Velo Ventures.

I've read the seat's specs:  organic cotton covering proprietary vulcanized rubber, plus a stiff pad of fabric. The saddle is light-issimo, requires no break-in, is waterproof and durable, and costs a pretty penny (farthing).

Hangin' at World's Only Corn Palace, Mitchell, SD.

Ever been to Mitchell, SD, home of the World's Only Corn Palace?

La Nancita and I paid a visit on a road trip from the Twin Cities. The Palace itself, across Mitchell's main drag from this concession area, is literally made from thousands of ears of South Dakota corn. The design changes every year, as you may know, and seeing the place is weirdly, intoxicatingly enchanting.

But I'm more interested in candids of the folks who come to visit.  On a brutally hot and searingly bright day, a lady in capris hangs on for "ear life," get it?

Cross Country Cyclists, Oregon to Maine: Huzzah!

You've got to hand it to cross country velo-sters like my Oregon friends, above: 60 years old, 60 miles pedaled per day, bare bones and self-supported, and putting finishing touches on their coast-to-coast trip of a lifetime, Oregon to Maine.  

I met this couple in front of the Safeway in Wickenburg, AZ.  Wish I'd asked for their contact info so we could stay in touch.  Some folks actually get out and do these trans-continental dream rides.  The rest of us cheer from the sidelines, and post words and pics on the blog.

Waitin' for the 7:18 local outta West Northfield, MN.

My friend Dave waits yesterday for the 7:18 local out of West Northfield, MN.

The usually reliable narrow-gauge seemed to be running a little late, though my buddy had a full cuppa Mickey D java and seemed to be enjoying the sunny Minnesota day.

Choo-choo-choo.  I think I hear her now, comin' round the bend.  

Egg Salad Sandwich Delish at D'Lish in North Loop.

Not too long ago there used to be an egg salad sandwich on whole wheat tucked neatly into the bag to your left.

But after ducking into D'Lish Grocery in the North Loop, stomach grumbling w/hunger, then grabbing a bite, and carrying it to the KIA with hopes of getting it and me back home in one piece .... I surrendered.

Before you could say "this is the freshest, tastiest, most pleasing  sandwich I've eaten in years," I'd inhaled every last bite, even the crumbs.

The wax paper-like bag wrap was retained so my eating adventures could be documented on the Poppy Blog.  Go get one of these babies for yourself, see if you don't agree with me.

Body Bliss Tooth + Gum Powder (and Brush).

Gregor Gardens Grows Good Stuff.

Not even a five-mile ride from where I live you can find Gregor Farms and the good folks who put up some of the best home-made jams and jellies on the planet.

Me? I bought a starter jar of Raspberry + Pepper jelly at the Medina Days celebration last weekend.  On my ride the following day I stopped by Gregor to say how much we enjoyed our English muffins topped with Gregor jelly.

Patty the Proprietress was persuaded to pose with her handiwork.  Suggest you go see her at the intersection of Holy Name and Medina Roads in Plymouth, MN.  Shop the stand.  Treat yourselves to something local, made with TLC, and yummy beyond expectations.

Classic Nash Metropolitan: $10,000, O.B.O.

My college classmate Bill Quayle drove one of these out from his home in Ohio freshman year.  Wonder what ever became of the car? Bet it sold for a lot less than one of my neighbors in West Hennepin is asking for his '57 Metropolitan: $10,000.

On my way home from a bike ride through Baker Park last week I spied this sweet classic.  Had to stop, check it out, and snap a foto.  The two-tone color combo appears authentic, though I could tell the body had been repainted.  Couldn't see miles on the odo, and the interior was so-so.   Nonetheless .....

If you want a classic rag-top, with three-on-the-tree, and a fabled history in American auto-mo-bilia, then you could do a lot worse than driving off with this cutie.