Metal BMX

Metal BMX, originally uploaded by bhenrymartin.

After a not particularly eventful weekend, lunch time on Monday brought our little part of West Queen Anne a visit from the Pro BMX riders from Metal Bike Company. It seems that what they do is a lot of street riding with BMX bikes and really just leaves you with your heart in your throat after watching them seemingly defy death and gravity before your eyes as if death and gravity were actually controlled by them individually. Amazing!

The had traveled from all over the world to Seattle, then did a series of rides from here to San Fransisco, then back again to Seattle; all the while filming for their newest video and I’m sure signing a significant number of autographs.

It was great to talk to them about what they are passionate about. They all have been riding for a long time, one of the team members has been riding for 20 years.

Thanks for stopping by guys! We all had a great time talking to you and maybe we’ll see some of you guys again.

Toast

zuse, originally uploaded by bhenrymartin.

Toast and butter is on the top ten list of perfect comfort food. Add crunch peanut butter and you may have a winner in my book. Why is toast worth talking about? Watch this movie to see.

Thanks Joe!

MINI-wine bar?

Kelley was looking around at her usual favorite blogs and came across a post at one of her favorite design blogs (Life In A Venti Cup) and passed the link on to me. She knew that I would love what I found and I did. I also like the name of the blog, clever.

When people find out I drive a MINI, they always ask if I like it and the natural answer is YES! I have a 2003 MINI Cooper S. I bought it used in 2005 and I have not been as kind to it in the past year as I have historicly been. I love it none the less and would not ever trade it in for any other car, save for maybe a new MINI. Maybe this one from AZNOM:

AZNOM takes stock cars and customizes them. This particular MINI is the Clubman and is lengthend by just a few inches. It has a new name from AZNOM; the Clubman Chateau MINI. The Chateau has been customized with real wood trim and beautiful leather inside and out. The most astounding aspect of the car is the ‘wine cellar’ in the boot (rear) of the car.

Room for 6 bottles of wine in a custom padded, fully customiszed, shock absorbant boot keep the wine from being upset too much. Even when you are turning corners at what might be an unsafe speed in any other car. (One of the things I love about my MINI.)

A look inside the interior gives you a better view of the custome leather work. The small ’suicide door’ is standard on the Clubman.

My girl says a lady always travels in style. She might like our MINI better if it came with custom luggage like all 12 of these MINIs produced by AZNOM. I tried to find a price on one of these but it looks like they are priceless.

Fore!

Clouds Over Chambers Bay Golf Course, originally uploaded by mistymisschristie.

EDIT! I have finally double checked this post and have edited it. Sorry for the bad post earlier.

The picture above is Chambers Bay golf course and it is so beautiful. Chambers Bay is inTacoma and I wish I had been here today. I wasn’t there but I was on the golf course, that is why I wasn’t at work on Friday. I took some time to go down to Tacoma and spend some quality time with my good friend Don. Kelley needed to come down to spend some time with her mom, so I went golfing with Don and really it was to get him out of Kelley’s mom’s way.

Don is 74 and is about the most cantankerous guy I know. He is also the funniest guy I know, but I think it is because he is so damn cantankerous!

Don is one of those guys who when he got out of the Army, never wanted to work for anyone else, so has since always been self employed. He understands what kind of commitment it takes to run a business and has some good perspective and advice for me everytime I see him. He also has a lot of advice for my golf game. I try and listen to it all and keep what seems the most sincere and throw out the chatter. He also has emphasema so we take a cart and drive it right up to the ball. Don also has emphasema so he must have oxygen on his back in a backpack for the entire round. He can’t get upstairs to take care of himself, but he can play 18 holes and flirt with the woman who operates the beer hole.

The older I get, the more I find I learn when I least expect to and mostly by just observing. Here is what I learned today from Don by what he said: “Keep your elbow in and don’t pull the club back so far when you swing. You can control it better when it dosen’t go back so far.” and ” Getting old is not for sissys!”

What I learned today from observation: It is more important to spend time doing what you love than doing what you think you have to. You don’t know how long you are going to be around and the stuff you ‘have’ to do pretty much can wait.

As I carried both sets of our clubs to the car, I also learned that growing old really isn’t for sissy’s.

Have a great weekend!

We Are Happy To Serve You!

el_happy1[1], originally uploaded by bhenrymartin.

Next time you come into the store you may see me drinking from my new favorite cup. It was a gift from my beautiful girl, and it is a reminder of our great trip to New York. I drank some really crappy coffee at a great deli in mid-town from this iconic paper cup. This one however is ceramic and it even has a seam on the back.

They are not new by any means but I finally got one. You can pick one up for yourself at Velocity Art and Design.

Thanks again Kelley, I love it, I love New York and I love you!

Build it in!

coffeeMaker2, originally uploaded by bhenrymartin.

You may or may not find this surprising but I have to have my coffee in the morning…before I go to work to make your coffee. Even when I have to be there early to open the store, I have my coffee before I am out the door for the long (10 block) ride to work.

I love our home drip maker. It has a programable timer and a conicle burr grinder so I still get fresh ground coffee in the morning without having to grind it myself or pre-grinding it. The machine brews into a stainless steel thermal carafe instead of glass so it holds the coffee hot rather than keeping it warm on a hot plate.

The only thing it doesn’t do is plumb directly into my plumbing and it takes up valuable space on our kitchen counter. I now officially have ‘brewer envy’. The Brew Express from Lance/Larkin is built directly into your kitchen wall, hard wired and fully plumbed. This not only creates more counter space but eliminates the explitives used in your kitchen everytime you over pour or miss entirely the brewer reservoir.

Locally you can buy it from Seattle Home Applianceask for Joe. I don’t know the exact price but I believe it retails for around $450. Perfect for the small kitchens in condos, townhouses or quaint little craftsman homes in Queen Anne with the original small kitchen

Vend-a-latte!

britney_starbucks, originally uploaded by bhenrymartin.

A recent post in the Portland and Puget Sound Biz Journal was brought to my attention and I just have to pass it on to you.

Starbucks is using the Seattle’s Best brand to kick off a new self-serve espresso vending machine in different outlets across the west, maybe in an Alberton’s near you!

I always get asked questions about Starbucks and how they as a company impact my business. The short answer is: Starbuck’s makes it possible for so many independants to exist. With the investment in small markets that they make, small business can come in and do it better.

With the vend-a-latte, it will simply elevate what we at Muse and others in this industry do, to an art form. Besides, have you tried to drink coffee that comes from a vending machine?

Oh yea, the photo. I just couldn’t resist a photo of Brittney Spears for this posting. It just seemed to fit. I’m not sure if that makes me part of the solution or part of the problem.

Wanna buy a barber shop or a key maybe?

The late, great James Brown’s personal affects are about to be put on the auction block at Christie’s in New York in July. There are a lot of shoes and clothing items for sale and those are the things you would expect to find at an auction but some of these things get bizarre.

James had his own fully stocked barber shop. For sale are leftover hair spray cans and Hair rollers along with who knows what else.

Also for sale are “Keys to the City”. Now I’m thinking, no wonder our cities are not secure, what happens with all of the keys to these cities? Now all of these keys given out by Mayors to James Brown are for sale to the highest bidder! Does the police know that these keys are for sale?

Photos courtesy of Christie’s.

Art

Long Island City Graffiti Building aka Five Pointz., originally uploaded by woodendesigner.

One of the most fun aspects of my job is finding new artists for our monthly hanging shows. I always have more artists than I can feasably feature so it is difficult to sort through and make decisions about who gets to hang and who doesn’t.

A few weeks ago we had to have a conversation about graffiti, art, defimation of public property and the like. Nothing was decided except that ‘tagging’ is a blight and that some graffiti can be beautiful; but what is the line? When does graffiti become a ‘mural’? We also decided that if he does any thing like tagging or graffiti, it is a criminal act.

I have a friend who is teaches art history at the UW, and I’m sure he has an opinion about the subject but he is studying in Europe right now. I’ll have to ask him after he gets back.

Kelley just blogged about designers Lovegrove and Repucci. They have taken tags and created a set of dinnerware that is stunning.

I bring this up because I found this video today and it is definately cool, creative and clever. I just had to share it.

MUTO

WINO!

wine will you be ready?, originally uploaded by California Grandma K.

I have found that people who are passionate about coffee are often also passionate about wine, I am no exception. It is an easy translation because both are agricultural products. Terrior is a word that is moving past wine only and is being used by the coffee industry as well. While I was at Metropolitan Market last night I saw a new free magazine and picked it up. I thought is was good and then went to the website and it is even better.

WINO Magazine is a mag dedicated to Washington wines. Great resource for you if wine is a Muse of yours.

Another great source for wine information and really just a great social network for wine enthusiasts is Cellar Tracker. I am a member and I have to get better about updating my cellar. Of course, Cellar Tracker has a special place in my heart because it was started by my friend, neighbor and Muse customer, Eric Levine.

Eric is a perfect example of someone who had a passion and figured out how to make a living following it. I don’t have a lot of money to spend on a big fancy cellar then stock it with expensive bottles, but you don’t really need to to enjoy really great wine here in Washington. Just like you don’t need to spend $60 a pound for Cup of Excellence coffee to enjoy really great single origin coffee.

Have a great weekend!