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This is Lola.
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I heard you gasp.
Once at her breathtaking beauty, and again as you thought, Wait a minute, that's Lola?!
I encourage you to click on the photos for a larger view - all the better to really witness her glory.
Yes. This, is the original Lola.
The other evening a dear friend rang me up for a sip in her garden. It was lovely and balmy, a perfect glow after a bluebird day. It has become a tradition on such days, that this friend and I meet for a spell in the garden with the cats and the trickle splash music of the pond. It is a seasonal pleasure, happily indulged. I roused Lola from her winter's rest and rode swiftly (if somewhat rustily) over to her house for a sweet evening of catching up in good company.
As I was riding along the backstreets, wind whistling through my helmet, I thought it might be high time y'all met.
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A few years back, when I was trying to give a name to these things I make and do; I was enjoying a nice bicycle ride, just me and Lola The Super Nova (She's actually a Schwinn Collegiate) - and it came to me. The first logo was a stylized rendition of the lovely Lola. So, there's the story.
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For the story of Lola herself, we must go back another couple of years. Lola was given to me by my brilliant husband one Valentine's Day. I was completely done for and madly in love (with both the bicycle and that man of mine). The antlers on the basket - I found in an abandoned homestead in Wyoming. And for you bird enthusiasts, that is a chickadee perching there on the edge. She has a green bell to match her enthusiastic green paint. She has chrome fenders, a little dented but, still shiny. Oh, how I adore this bicycle.
The naming of this bicycle is a different story, for another time.
There is often a story behind the things we love so. I thought I would start up a semi-regular article on this blog called Strange Love, all about the things I love for some strange reason. A little bit photo essay, a little bit rambling and a whole lot of strange love. I am going to try to coerce you to play along. If you want to join in, let me know...or just post on your blog about something you adore - some trinket from the past, a moment in time, a silly bottle cap - whatever. Tell the story and send me a link. What is your Strange Love?
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5 comments:
I always flip through blogs at night to unwind for a few minutes. The series of bike photos made me happy. They're beautiful and unusual. And seem to evoke another world and a world very familiar at the same time.
In any event, a nice bedtime find.
lovely tale thanks for sharing. Nice pics.
You are such a good writer! I loved the tale of the bike. I'll have to look around for a "strange love"
I love it!
very nice pics too :)
What a lovely post, and such a special bike. I'm in the process of contemplating a name change for something a little more permanent and "me," and this gives me hope that I can find inspiration in something along the way. :)
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