I bought my Miata from the wonderful folks at University Mazda in Seattle. One of the things that struck me in the two years I drove around the North West is that Miata owners always waved to each other. It was sort of like belonging to a club made up of all your friends.
In addition to waving as they went by, Miata owners would always stop and say hello when they saw me pull up in my own midnight blue. Invariably the discussion would drift into remembrances of trips taken, recommendations of excellent winding roads, and comparison among models.
However, when I moved back East, I noticed this sense of camaraderie had disappeared. It’s rare, indeed, when a fellow Miata owner will respond with a wave as we pass. And I don’t think anyone’s ever stopped me to talk about our Miatas. This makes me a little sad.
What is it about Easterners that makes them so unfriendly? New Englanders are some of the most friendly people I’ve met, but they don’t wave any more than New Yorkers do. And I actually got the finger from one guy down in Florida.
I still wave, but I fear I’m regarded as something of a freak.
When I first moved to Newburyport, back in December of 2004, I had nothing: the apartment contained my Thermarest mattress, my REI sleeping bag, some clothes, a towel, and my laptops (personal and company). It was a little sparse.
The first weekend back in Rhinebeck, Anna gave me my Christmas present early, because she knew it would make me more comfortable in our new apartment. She’d purchased a Brown Betty — a six cup tea pot — with a cute Ginger Cat Cozy to keep it warm. In the next couple weeks while I waited for Anna to join me, Betty was my sole company at home. I’d thank her for making a good pot of tea and I’d ask her how her day was when I got home. Really, I wasn’t going crazy; just keeping myself occupied.
Well, a few weeks ago, while struggling with Molly and Betty at the same time, I dropped Betty’s lid, which immediately broke into five pieces. Since then, I’ve been making do by covering Betty’s wound with a metal lid from one of our smaller teapots. But Betty can rest easy now: this weekend we bought Betty 2.0.
The new pot is a brilliant cobalt blue (does that make her a Blue Betty now?) and stands a bit taller but somehow makes Betty look a bit more squat (perhaps the pot is also a bit wider?). But most importantly, it has a great filter basket built in. Betty 1.0 was missing a filter basket, which really wasn’t a problem until we started drinking so much loose tea from our buddies Bil & Meg over at Licorice & Sloe Co.
So Betty is reborn better than ever.
23 June, 2006
Wee Watkins
There is something both delightful and frightening about seeing the smiling face of your nearly 7 month old daughter looking at you over the crib railing.
The good news: I am the one who propped her up, and put her hands on the rail.
The bad news: She is the one actually keeping herself upright.
The really bad news: She enjoyed the experience way too much, and would rather stand than sit.
UH OH…
