we painted our new apartment yellow this weekend. parents, sisters, new apartment, things are beginning to get exciting. except that i had a test this morning,a nd work this afternoon, and none of them involved mark, or dallas, or being away from commerce, in general.

but i've spent the afternoon looking at things on rivendell, to compensate. mostly their bags, racks, etc. trying to stay away from bikes, seats, and the other sorts of things that i don't actually need. i really want some good, pretty bags/panniers so i can go off to tomthumb/central market/borders by myself, and not have to use the car. some things make this hard.
-size: obviously i iwll not buy as many groceries at once as i do now, but it would be nice to be able to fit quite alot in these babies. i also like the idea of us cutting down on unnessecary large food items, and going for smaller ones. not that we eat that much food in the first place, in fact, we need to eat more. but i think we should buy food when we need it, and not just because we ran out.
-look: i believe in cycling apparatus that does not coordinate with rainforest animals. natural colours are the best! no spandex, no neon things of any sort, although of course reflectors are useful. but those can be red or white, not radioactive. nigel smythe makes the most beautiful bags that ever graced a means of transport, and i want them, i just can't afford them, and i don't count myself as responsible enough to take care of them as well as i ought for hte next couple of years.
-function: as well as being big enough to hold groceries, i would like to easily remove them from my bike (like, one swift motion) and bring them into shops to use as a grocery basket, and therefore do away with plastic bags, etc. my current wire basket does this quite well, but does not fit on my most functional bike.

so i'm left with decisions. lower expectations and buy something cheap, ugly, badly made, or small.
or i can make my own, emulating the style of nigel smythe, but to my own sizing preferences. so i'm ploting my next trip to goodwill, and their plaid wool skirts section. and old leather belts. hah. it will be amazing.