Where is Everyone Thinking?

So how are you doing, good? There is a cloud hanging over us. However, behind the clouds the sun's still shining. That's Longfellow's sentiment expressed in the all-time Cleverhood classic: The Rainy Day.

We’re checking in with friends and colleagues around the world to see how they're doing and what they're doing. It's all a little disorienting. Collectively, maybe we can offer some perspectives for others who are in the same boat.

Last week we connected with Eva Frazier of Portland, Oregon, where social isolation is underway. Eva is an owner of Portland's popular Clever Cycles, a unique shop that specializes in bikes for transportation. And helping people get more enjoyment in life.

3 Questions for Eva Frazier:

1. Who are you staying-at-home with?

My wife and I are hunkered down with our cat, but really just living our normal lives. She’s an artist that works from home and has colleagues all over the world, so Zoom meetings are nothing new, though they seem to happen ever more often these days! I’m still going to work, so it’s just a loop from home to work and back again. Catface has no idea that anything has changed.

2. How are things looking in your neighborhood?

Things are SO quiet. The birds are singing their songs and the freeway’s oceanic lull seems further away. I’m seeing lots of runners, bikers and dog walkers. I never knew so many of my neighbors had dogs! I ride my bike 5 miles to work everyday and I’m so happy to see people staying home and not endlessly driving their cars about. I really hope we can take this to heart and realize that we don’t need to build more freeways, we just need to rethink how we operate our lives.

3. Have you discovered any new interests...or tackled some pursuit that you’d been thinking of tackling?

Eating every meal at home means I am cooking more. I started baking bread with sourdough starter last fall, and I’m feeling like everyone else has joined me. Lucky for me, I had 40 pounds of flour before the virus hit the US. My secret to a good loaf (and beautiful crust) is a pre-heated cast iron dutch oven--also a bread knife is the best tool I've found for slashing the top of the loaf. So, it’s usually a loaf of bread a week, a batch of pizza (Ken Forkish’s recipe), and this week I made focaccia with rosemary from the garden. We are also eating lots of arugula salads with herbs from the garden (salad burnet, sculpit, mint, oregano, tarragon). Also, beans. I love beans. And hummus. Have you had my hummus? My wife and I both have birthdays this week, so there’s definitely going to be cake. Also, I learned how to operate an excavator. Random and so satisfyingly fun.