Archive
Pictures from meetups and trips, Northeast Iowa, and the woodshop.
Okay, Spacefast is just too much fun! I got the idea from Nick Hamze to play with bbPress and BuddyPress to create a headless community platform. I’m working on Riffit…
Okay, Spacefast is just too much fun! I got the idea from Nick Hamze to play with bbPress and BuddyPress to create a headless community platform. I’m working on Riffit as an experiment. The fun part is letting ChatGPT make these super fun mascots for user avatars. I love it!
Fall this year in Iowa has been beautiful. We wanted to take advantage of the beautiful weather and spend the morning at Jester Park. We’ve never been there before, so…
Fall this year in Iowa has been beautiful. We wanted to take advantage of the beautiful weather and spend the morning at Jester Park. We’ve never been there before, so this was a nice, short trip. We were excited to see the elk and bison in the park, and the timing was perfect to where we got great views of the elk.
Jester ParkIowaMapMore from here
It was pretty chilly and everyone was ready for breakfast, so we only explored a small bit of the trails. We’ll be coming back here for sure.
Thursday brought my favorite part of the whole meetup: we made bagels. The morning started back at La Fabrique de Bagel with bagel sandwiches and flan parisien, and lunch was…
Thursday brought my favorite part of the whole meetup: we made bagels.
The morning started back at La Fabrique de Bagel with bagel sandwiches and flan parisien, and lunch was a quick poutine from Patati Patata, because of course it was.
La Fabrique de BagelLe Plateau-Mont-Royal, MontréalMapMore from here
Patati PatataLe Plateau-Mont-Royal, MontréalMapMore from here
In the afternoon, a few of us headed to The Bagel Class in the old Cadbury building. On the way in, I passed a woodshop full of old cast-iron machines, which made the woodworker in me happy.
The Bagel ClassLe Plateau-Mont-Royal, MontréalMapMore from here
Then we got to work. We weighed flour, mixed and kneaded the dough, let it rest, shaped our rings, and watched them go into the boiling pot before rolling them in sesame and poppy seeds.
The Bagel ClassLe Plateau-Mont-Royal, MontréalMapMore from here
And then we got to eat them, still warm. That’s the best kind of team building I know. Huge thanks to Will Paquet for walking us through it, and to Michelle, Kim, Bryan, and Kathryn for being such good bagel partners. Thanks also to Chuck Grimmett for rounding up our activity options, Kathryn Presner for finding a way to book with the class directly, and Rachel Bird for locking in our spots.
What’s the best hands-on thing you’ve done with your team?
Wednesday was our big day out, and I took more photos than any other day of the week. The morning started at Le Toledo, a bakery and café in one.…
Wednesday was our big day out, and I took more photos than any other day of the week.
The morning started at Le Toledo, a bakery and café in one. The loaves are scored with a big T, the case was full of roulés and croissants, and the back room has pink velvet couches I’d happily work from every day.
Le ToledoLe Plateau-Mont-Royal, MontréalMapMore from here
After our morning sessions, lunch was hand-pulled noodles at Nouilles de Lan Zhou, a block up Saint-Denis from the cowork. We watched the cook stretch dough in the window while we ate smashed cucumbers and a big plate of spicy noodles.
Nouilles de Lan ZhouLe Plateau-Mont-Royal, MontréalMapMore from here
In the afternoon we walked up Mount Royal. The Kondiaronk lookout gives you the whole downtown skyline with the St. Lawrence behind it, and the Chalet du Mont-Royal is even better inside, under that big timber ceiling.
From there we wandered over to Beaver Lake: blue sky, gulls on the path, and a little waterfall garden. A sign along the way was a good reminder that Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed Central Park, designed this park too.
We came down the mountain through McGill’s campus, past the old Royal Victoria Hospital, and ended up at Le Balcon’s terrace in front of St. James United Church.
The evening ended back in the Plateau: painted staircases, a band with an upright bass playing on a terrace, and dinner at Arepera. Arepas and a patacón loaded with shredded meat and cheese. That’s a good meal right there.
Tuesday started the way a Montreal day should: bagels. La Fabrique de Bagel had them piled in wooden bins; sesame, poppy, everything, and a few bright pink ones I still…
Tuesday started the way a Montreal day should: bagels. La Fabrique de Bagel had them piled in wooden bins; sesame, poppy, everything, and a few bright pink ones I still have questions about.
La Fabrique de BagelLe Plateau-Mont-Royal, MontréalMapMore from here
Lunch with Kim was Schwartz’s. The line, the narrow room packed with tables, and a smoked meat sandwich stacked high on rye with mustard. It lived up to every story I’d heard.
Schwartz'sLe Plateau-Mont-Royal, MontréalMapMore from here
On the walk back along Saint-Laurent, I stopped at the window of Kitsch’n Swell, a pin-up dress shop that’s been there since 2008.
Our first full day started with a walk past one of those Montreal houses that makes you stop: gray stone, slate, and the brightest blue trim on the block. Breakfast…
Our first full day started with a walk past one of those Montreal houses that makes you stop: gray stone, slate, and the brightest blue trim on the block. Breakfast was at Hof Kelsten before we headed to Montréal Cowork.
Hof KelstenLe Plateau-Mont-Royal, MontréalMapMore from here
Montréal Cowork was really cool. There were different levels. Our main room was great for collaborating. The coffee bar was nice.
Montréal CoworkLe Plateau-Mont-Royal, MontréalMapMore from here
At lunch, a few of us wandered Avenue du Mont-Royal. Le Port de tête had carts of books out on the sidewalk, and Le Valet d’Coeur had a full shelf of Everdell expansions and a miniatures case I could’ve stared at for an hour.
Later in the afternoon, I walked past Mix’Heure and its wall of painted fruit and hanging flowerpots.
I flew into Montreal for our team meetup. First time flying into Quebec and first time in Canada since hockey trips as a kid. Checked into Boxotel. Interesting hotel. Cool…
I flew into Montreal for our team meetup. First time flying into Quebec and first time in Canada since hockey trips as a kid.
Checked into Boxotel. Interesting hotel. Cool rooms that were like a one room apartment. Only like 20 some rooms in the whole building. It was a good place to land.
BoxotelVille-Marie, MontréalMapMore from here